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THE HISTORY 

OF 

RUSSIAN LITERATURE, 

WITH A 

LEXICON OF RUSSIAN AUTHORS, 

BY DR. FRIEDRICH OTTO, 
u 

LECTURER IN THE OCCIDENTAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE IN THE 
ROYAL UNIVERSITY OF ERLANGEN. 



TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, ONDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE 
OF THE AUTHOR, 

BY THE LATE GEORGE COX, M. A. 

FELLOW OF NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, AND STUDENT 
OF THE INNER TEMPLE. 




OXFORD: D. A. TALBOYS; 

AND 113, FLEET STREET, LONDON. 

MDCCCXXXIX. 



96 ***' 



OXFORD : PRINTED BY D. A. TAI.EOYS. 



2-?g 



TO HIS IMPERIAL HIGHNESS 
THE GRAND DUKE 

ALEXANDER, 
HEREDITARY PRINCE OF RUSSIA, 

THIS TRANSLATION 

OF 

DR. OTTO'S HISTORY OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE, 

IS, BY PERMISSION, HUMBLY DEDICATED, 

IN GRATITUDE 

FOR HIS MUNIFICENT PATRONAGE 

IN HELPING FORWARDS ITS PUBLICATION, 

BY HIS HIGHNESS'S 

DEVOTED SERVANT, 

THE EDITOR. 



/& 



TO THE 

PRINCE JOHN GAGARIN, 3 

GENTLEMAN OF THE BEDCHAMBER TO THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, 

AND ATTACHE TO THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY AT THE 

COURT OF LONDON. 

My Dear Prince, 

Some agreeable associations connected 
with a winter at Munich, and a voyage down the 
Rhine, having been still more pleasantly revived in 
England, it is natural that I should wish to per- 
petuate the remembrance of them by any memo- 
rial, however humble, which I may be able to con- 
tribute, in relation to a subject on which you have 
so often talked, and I have so often listened. 

I have been enabled by your conversation to ap- 
preciate in some degree the hidden treasures of the 
literature of Russia ; and the interest taken in its 
diffusion by one who is so familiarly acquainted as 
yourself with European languages and authors in 
general, ought to be alone a sufficient guarantee, 
that it possesses no inconsiderable beauties even in 
comparison with the productions of other and older 
lands. It is your zeal in promoting every means 
for conveying to the rest of Europe a more inti- 



a The Editor, out of a pious wish to leave the work as much as possi- 
ble in its original state, feels it his duty to prefix to it the Dedication to 
Prince Gagarin. 



mate knowledge of Russian writers, which is the 
best apology I have to offer for requesting your 
patronage of the present undertaking. The work 
is, t fear, altogether unworthy of the name with 
which it is inscribed ; but that name will be too 
great a recommendation to its unambitious pages, 
to allow me to forego so flattering an occasion of 
spreading over a wider surface the little informa- 
tion it may be found to contain. 

I have the honour to be, 

My Dear Prince, 

Yours very faithfully, 

THE TRANSLATOR. 

3, Inner Temple Lane, 
November, 1837, 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



That the kingdoms of Europe are daily becoming 
more exposed to the risk of being subjugated by 
the barbarism of Russia, is the constant theme of 
declamation among a numerous and influential party 
in this country. It will be evident, however, on the 
slightest reflection, that it is not the barbarism of 
Russia which is to be dreaded, but her civilisation. 
Not only year after year is some new province 
added to the formidable acquisitions of the imperial 
sceptre, but day after day the internal resources of 
the people are becoming more and more developed, 
and the Russian language is rendered richer in its 
attractions in the same proportion as it is more 
widely diffused in extent. 

The policy of the present Emperor, above all, is 
remarkable for the zeal with which he encourages 
everything nationally Russian among his subjects, 
and especially for the care with which he promotes 
the use and cultivation of their own indigenous 
tongue. French is no longer, as in the days of a 
Catherine and an Alexander, the court language at 
St. Petersburg ; and except in immediate commu- 
nication with the diplomatic circles, the Russian 
has been reinstated in its place. The government 
papers have lately advocated, in long leading arti- 
cles, the introduction of the Russian language into 
all the schools and colleges of Courland and Li- 



x TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

vonia, to the exclusion of their native German ; so 
that a ukase to that effect, if not yet actually is- 
sued, may be daily expected to appear. In the 
month of September in the current year, 1837, a 
large sum of money was contributed by the Rus- 
sian government for the establishment of a public 
library at Bialystock, which is to be exclusively ap- 
propriated to Russian books ; and not even those 
in the Polish or other Sclavonic languages are to 
be admitted. This, moreover, is far from being a 
solitary instance of the kind. Again, the children 
of the Poles, as well as from Circassia, the Crimea, 
and the Caucasus, are sent to Russian schools and 
universities for their education ; and on their return 
to their own countries, carry thither with them the 
language which they have thus acquired in their 
youth. The splendid pensions given to literary 
men in Russia by former Czars, have been also still 
farther increased in amount and number by the 
politic munificence of Nicholas. It would seem, 
therefore, from all this, that a language which pro- 
mises to become the common vernacular dialect as 
well as the medium of literary composition to a 
population of nearly sixty millions of souls, ought 
not to be an object of indifference to the rest of 
Europe. More particularly England, who may in 
some respects be regarded as the great political 
rival of Russia, might find it well worth her while 
to acquaint herself with what progress has been 
made in intelligence and refinement by a nation 
which she vainly affects to despise as rude and un- 
civilised, while in fact she has little real knowledge 
upon the subject. With the exception of Dr. 



TRANSLATORS PREFACE. xi 

Bowring's Anthology, which contains specimens 
rendered from the Russian poets beautiful enough, 
it might be thought, to have excited others to fol- 
low in his steps, little or nothing has been done in 
this country to throw a light upon the literary 
stores and resources of the North. That in the 
nineteenth century, throughout the whole kingdom 
of Great Britain, not half a dozen persons are to be 
found capable of perfectly understanding the lan- 
guage spoken and written in the largest and most 
politically important country in Europe, may al- 
most be called a phenomenon in the history of the 
civilised world ; and yet we believe that we may 
safely affirm this to be the fact. Nor is this igno- 
rance confined to our fellow-countrymen alone. 
It was happily replied the other day by a Russian 
of my acquaintance, to a person who had compli- 
mented the Russians as being accomplished lin- 
guists in all the European languages, that this was 
less a virtue than a necessity on the part of his 
countrymen, as, go where they will, the Russians 
never find any one capable of talking to them in 
their own tongue. 

The object of this Translation is to supply in 
some measure the deficiency of information which 
exists in this country on the subject of Russian 
literature, and by pointing out how much has al- 
ready been done, and how much more is likely to 
be done, in that field, to stimulate a desire to be- 
come acquainted with the language in which so 
many excellent works have been written. Ori- 
ginality is the great desideratum of the day, and 
much of Russia's poetry is not less new or less beau- 



xii TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 

tiful than her music. There is the same sweetness, 
the same richness, and the same plaintive melan- 
choly about them both. 

In order to acquire a solid acquaintance with 
the Russian language, the learner will do best to 
begin by studying the Bible. He will there find 
the original church-language, as it is called, which 
is the root and foundation of every variety of the 
Sclavonic dialects ; and having once made himself 
master of this, he will find afterwards but little dif- 
ficulty in acquiring the Polish, the Bohemian, the 
Hungarian, and the rest. The modern Russian 
will then be found the most easy to learn of all : 
next to this the Polish, and then the Bohemian ; 
but with the exception of the Russian, the Polish 
is perhaps the only variety of the Sclavonic lan- 
guage which repays by the richness of its literature 
the labour of its acquisition. Without beginning 
on this sound and systematic plan, I am told that 
ten years may be uselessly expended in endeavour- 
ing to thread the mazy labyrinth of the Russian 
accidence and syntax. 

Nor is it only to the man of taste and lover of 
elegant letters, that the Russian language ought 
now to become an object of study ; but the think- 
ing and philosophic mind may also find in the in- 
vestigation and analysis of the Sclavonic languages, 
ample food for the most interesting meditations. 
The one great and important end of the study of 
languages, as indeed of all other scientific pursuits, 
is and ought to be the endeavour to throw addi- 
tional light upon the truth of Revelation. If the 
researches of the geologist tend to illustrate Scrip- 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xiii 

ture, and the dissections of the anatomist assist ra- 
ther in refuting than abetting the doctrines of ma- 
terialism in their results, the inquiries of the philo- 
sophical linguist may surely be esteemed as not 
less applicable to the same mighty ends. Whether 
the whole mass of mankind are descended or not 
from one original stock or race, is a question of 
which the solution appears to be involved in the 
study of the origin of languages. The materials 
which are supplied by the Egyptian hieroglyphics 
and by the Sanscrit, may derive no little confirma- 
tion and illustration from the Sclavonic dialects, 
and their curious antiquities ; and it is as much on 
this ground as on any other that I am anxious to 
impress upon my readers the advisableness of culti- 
vating a knowledge of these languages in England. 
So much, then, for the objects of this Translation. 
The occasion of it may be shortly told, as follows. 
In the month of August in the present year, I first 
met with Dr. Otto, the Author of the work, at the 
baths of Ems. He was so flattering as to think me 
not incompetent to translate the work which he 
had then just published ; and finding that it con- 
tained a mass of information upon subjects on which 
I am not aware that any previous book has issued 
from the press in this country, I consented to exe- 
cute the task to the best of my humble capacity. 
In much of it I enjoyed the advantage of his per- 
sonal superintendence and revision, and for the 
numerous faults that may probably be discovered 
in the remainder, I am alone responsible. The 
arrangement of the book seems to me exceedingly 
luminous, and one of its chief merits. Display has 



xiv TRANSLATORS PREFACE. 

in no place been the author's aim ; and indeed he 
appears to have been so intent upon concentrating 
as much useful information as possible into the 
narrowest compass, that to the English reader he 
may perhaps run the risk of seeming not unfre- 
quently dry. He has been many years occupied 
with the book, which he has himself drawn entirely 
from Russian sources ; and though his work must 
be acknowledged to be far from complete, the great- 
est thanks are due to him for the labour and time 
which he has bestowed upon it. He showed me a 
list of nearly twelve hundred names of Russian au- 
thors not contained in his Biographical Lexicon, 
which he either considered too unimportant to in- 
sert, or respecting whom he was unable to obtain 
such full and necessary information as he required 
for the present edition. It may be worth while to 
mention, that Bulgarin is now engaged at St. Pe- 
tersburg on a large and general historical work upon 
Russia, which has for some time been advertised 
to appear in nine volumes. Two of these volumes 
are to be devoted to an account of the literature 
and literary men of the country ; and it may be 
expected to be ready for publication in a year or 
two. This work will be more in the style of Men- 
zel's book upon German literature, and will con- 
tain ample criticisms upon the living writers of the 
present day. Bulgarin, together with Gretsch, from 
whom Dr. Otto has derived a considerable part of 
his work, is now left at the head of the authors of 
Russia ; a post which the lamented death of Pusch- 
kin, in the last spring, left to his undisputed pos- 
session. Perhaps on some subsequent occasion, if 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. xv 

we are enabled to put into execution a long-since 
projected journey to St. Petersburg and Moscow, 
we may be induced to lay before the public some 
further particulars on these subjects. It is in vain 
to say that Russian literature is a topic uninterest- 
ing to the English : the obvious answer is, that if 
it be not interesting to them, it ought to be so ; 
and that sooner or later the time must arrive when 
their attention must be directed in that quarter. 
I have only, in conclusion, to request indulgence 
towards the many defects which will be found in 
this hastily executed Translation ; and to observe, 
that I do not wish to be held responsible for the 
political bias (if any be discoverable) which may 
exist in this book. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



The following extract from an article, which I in- 
serted some time ago in a periodical a , may be aptly 
introduced in this place, as the best justification of 
the present undertaking. " The literature of the 
South is rendered universally familiar to us through 
the study of the southern languages. It is other- 
wise however with the literature of the North, and 
especially of Russia, of which even our men of let- 
ters, for the most part, know nothing more than 
what may be gleaned from the common Russian 
Miscellanies. The chief ground of this ignorance 
can only be looked for in our very limited acquaint- 
ance with the Sclavonic languages ; and here the 
same reproach attaches to the Germans, on other 
points so studious of knowledge, which is justly 
brought against the French and Italians in regard 
to the literature of Germany. Of all the kingdoms 
of the North, the Russian Empire, marching on 
with giant strides towards a state of perfection, ri- 
vets most our earnest attention ; and yet its lan- 
guage and its literature continue to be almost en- 
tirely unknown. Since the beginning of the eigh- 
teenth century, we find intellectual relations ex- 
isting between Russia and the other European 
communities ; and a strict comparison would 

a See the Neue Bresluucr Zeitung for September 1 7th, 1025. 



xviii AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 

show, that at this period German literature itself 
occupied no very lofty position. Might not the 
Italians and French just as well plead this consi- 
deration as their excuse, if at the beginning of the 
nineteenth century they chose to believe that Ger- 
man literature had nothing very great to exhibit ? 
It is asserted that in Russia the higher classes only 
can make any pretensions to education ; but it is 
forgotten that in every country the great mass of 
the people resemble each other in this particular, 
of which every traveller possessing the mere rudi- 
ments of any language may convince himself, if, in- 
stead of taking the chief towns only as the standard 
of his conclusions, he will submit to pass some time 
also with this view in the country 15 . Although 
the Russians as yet can boast no Gothe or Shak- 
speare — even supposing that these writers could 
be equalled — yet we already see them, since the 
middle of last century, in the track which, by 
the exercise of their extraordinary application and 
ability, must sooner or later bring them near this 
point. To assure himself of this, let any one read 



Gothe says, in one of his Epigrams, 

Oft erklart Ihr euch als freiinde des Dichters, Ihr Gutter! 

Gebt ihra auch was er bedarf ! 

# * * # # # # # * 

Gebt ihm ferner dazu Sprachen, die alten und neu'n, 

Das ich der Volker Gewerb', und ihr Geschichte vornehme. 

Often, ye Gods, ye declare yourselves the friends of the poet ; 
Grant to him therefore what he most requires. 

* * # * # * * # * 

Grant him moreover, languages, both old and new, 
That I may become acquainted with the ways of the people, and 
their history. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. xix 

An Attempt at a Short History of Rassian Litera- 
ture, by N. Gretsch, published in the Russian lan- 
guage at St. Petersburg, A. D. 1822, in which are 
to be found biographical and literary notices of 
nearly three hundred Russian authors ; among 
whom, in the department of belles lettres alone, 
some of the chief ornaments of the glorious reign 
of Alexander the First may be reckoned, as Ka- 
ramsin, Dmitrijeff, Murawjeff, Oseroff, Schischkoff, 
Prodobiidoff, Lessnizkj, Drossdoff, Protassoff, Krii- 
loff, Shukofskj, Batjuschkoff, Wasemskj, Scha- 
chofskoj, Gnaditsch, Wojejkoff, Puschkin, and many 
others. This work, written by the Russian im- 
perial councillor of state, Nicolai von Gretsch, a 
distinguished philologist and grammarian, has been 
taken as the foundation of the present undertaking; 
the publication of which is intended to fill up a 
very perceptible void in our literature. For since 
the appearance of The Russian Library from 1772 
to 1789 (Die Russische Bibliothek, etc.), in eleven 
volumes, by Bacmeister, a space of now more than 
forty years, we possess nothing of the same kind 
in the German language ; Strahl's work, called 
Gelehrtes Russland, or Learned Russia, being de- 
voted exclusively to Russian writers of the eccle- 
siastical profession, whose numbers have been 
augmented in my Lexicon of Russian Authors by 
numerous articles, under the heads of Alexejeff, 
Amwrossj-Protassoff, Andrej LiislofF, Eugenj Bol- 
chowitinoff c , Busslajeff, Wassilj, Grigorj (Diakon), 



l ' The author of the work which Professor Strahl hi 
( rel( lilies Russian*!. 



xx AUTHORS PREFACE. 

Grigorowitsch Wassilj, Michael Dessnizkj, Filaret 
Drossdoff, Sestrenzewitsch-Bogusch, and others. 
Besides the Russian authors mentioned by Herr 
von Gretsch, many others have been added to ren- 
der the second part of this work more complete ; 
especially those which Alexander Bestuscheff has 
enumerated in his Review of Russian Literature. 
Although on the whole I have adhered to the 
above-named work of Herr von Gretsch, it appeared 
to me better suited to my particular plan to divide 
the History of Literature into two parts ; of which 
the first contains the proper History of Russian Li- 
terature, and the second, Biographical and Lite- 
rary Notices of Russian Authors ; and to which last, 
for the sake of greater convenience, I have given 
the form of a lexicon. As to the orthography of 
the Russian names, I have followed the most re- 
cent mode, as they are given by Tappe, in com- 
pliance with which, for instance, I use ff, il, sh, 
where others write w or v, y or ui, and sch or the 
French j d . With regard to the names of places, I 
have guided myself principally by their ordinary 
spelling in the most modern geographies. 

OTTO. 



(I Note of the Translator. The orthography of the Original Work has 
been followed throughout in the Translation. 



CONTENTS. 

PART THE FIRST. 

THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 

Page 
Division of the subject ....... 1 

PRELIMINARY VIEW 

OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 
FIRST PERIOD. 

Early history of the Sclavonic race . . . . .3 

Manners and Customs of the Sclaves . . . . 4 

The Sclavonic Language ....... 5 



BOOK I. 

First Period. From the invention of the Sclavonic Al- 
phabet, TO THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NATIONAL WRITING : 
OR FROM THE REMOTEST ORIGIN OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, TO 
THE REIGN OF PETER THE GREAT. FrOM THE MIDDLE OF THE 
NINTH TO THE END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 

CHAPTER I. 

From the discover// of the Sclavonic Letters, to the introduction 
of the Christian Religion into Russia: that is, from the Mid- 
dle of the Ninth Century to the year A. D. 989. 



I. Political condition of Russia . 

II. Progress of Enlightenment 

III. Influence of the Norse Language 

Translation of the Bible 

IV. Literature 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IT. 



From the introduction of the Christian Religion into Russia, to 
the throwing off the yoke of the Tatars ; or from the year 
989 to 1462. 

I. Political condition : — 

a) to the time of the Tatar invasion . . .18 

b) during the Tatar domination . . . . ib. 

II. Civilisation : — 

a) to the time of the Tatar invasion . . .20 

b) during the Tatar domination . . . .22 

III. The Language . . . . . . .23 

IV. Literature . . . . . . . .25 

Writers : — A) before the Tatar invasion . . .27 

B) during the Tatar domination . . .28 

CHAPTER III. 

From the deliverance from the Tatar yoke, to the reign of Peter 
the Great; or from A. D. 1462 to 1689. 

I. Political condition : 

a) to the time when the house of Romanoff mounted 

the throne 28 

b) under the Romanoff dynasty . . . .29 

II. Civilisation : — 

a) under John the Third and Wassilj , . .30 

b) under John the Fourth, and to the time when the 

family of Romanoff mounted the throne . .31 

c) under the Romanoffs . . . . . .35 

III. The Language . . . . . . .39 

IV. Literature : — 

«) to the time of the Romanoffs . . . .42 

b) under the Romanoffs 43 

Beginning of the Theatre . . . . . .44 

Writers : — A) till the Romanoffs mounted the throne . 46 
B) after the accession of the Romanoffs ■ 47 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK II. 

Second Period. From the reign of Peter the Great, to 
our own time. 

CHAPTER I. 

From the beginning of the Second Period, to the accession of 
the Empress Elizabeth. 

I. Political condition 48 

II. General Enlightenment . . . . .49 

Printing . . . . . . . .51 

Schools . . . . . . . .53 

Cabinets of Sciences and Arts . . . . .54 

Academy of Sciences . . . . . . ib. 

Under the Empress Anne . . . . .50 

III. The national writing : — 

The Language . . . . . . .58 

Grammar .... .... 59 

IV. Literature: — 

The Theatre 01 

Writers ........ ib. 



CHAPTER II. 

The reigns of Elizabeth and Catherine ; or, from Lomonossojf 
to Karamsin. 

I. Political condition of Russia : — 

a) under Elizabeth the First 62 

b) under Catherine the Second . . . . ib. 

c) under Paul the First . . . , . .03 

II. The progress of enlightenment under Elizabeth : — 

Learned Institutions . . . • • .01 
Progress of Enlightenment under Catherine IT. . <>0 
Men of letters, and learned Institutions . . .07 
Under Paul I T"-' 



xxiv CONTENTS. 

III. Formation of the Language and style of Lomo- 



nossoff : — 








The Lyric and Dramatic Metres 


. 73 


Rhetorical Style . 






. 74 


Grammar .... 






. 75 


The Language under the Empress 


Cathe 


rine— 


-the 


Language of Prose 






. 76 


The Language of Poetry 






. ib. 


Grammar and Lexicography . 






. 77 


Literature under Elizabeth 






. 78 


Journalism .... 






• 79 


The Russian Theatre 






. 80 


Wolkoff .... 








Literature under Catherine 






. 81 


Journalism .... 






. 82 


Pulpit Eloquence . 






. 83 


History ..... 






. ib. 


The Theatre 






. 84 


Writers .... 






. 85 



CHAPTER III. 

The Century of Alexander ; or, from Karamsin to our own 
time. 

I. Political condition of Russia . " . . .80 

II. General Enlightenment 87 

III. The Language . . . . . . .97 

IV. Literature 102 

Writers 107 

Continuation . . . . . . . .108 

Conclusion . ib. 



PART THE SECOND. 

LEXICON OF RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 

Introduction : containing a review of the different kinds 

of productions of the Russians, in prose and verse . Ill 

Biographical and Literary Notices of Russian Au- 
thors . . . . . . . .119 

Appendix ......... 403 



THE HISTORY 
OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 



Division of the subject. 

§. 1. The history of Russian literature may be di- 
vided into two principal periods ; namely, from the 
invention of the Sclavonic characters to the intro- 
duction of the popular writing, or, in a political 
point of view, from the earliest origin of the Rus- 
sian empire to the reign of Peter the Great ; and 
from this epoch down to our own times. The lat- 
ter period distinguishes itself from the first through 
the establishment of a regular national literature. 
The first of these periods separates again into three 
divisions. The first extends to the introduction of 
the Christian religion into Russia : the second to 
the end of the Tatar domination : the third to the 
point where the second period commences. The 
first division of this period exhibits scarcely any- 
thing but translations of the Scriptures, rendered 
from the Greek into the Sclavonic language. The 
second abounds in numerous Russian works, in di- 
plomacy, history, rhetoric, and poetry. The third, 
distinguished by the destruction of the eastern em- 
pire, and the establishment of relations between 



2 THE HISTORY OF 

Russia and the west of Europe, displays also in 
the productions of its literature, the influence of 
these important changes. The last period contains 
likewise three divisions : the first reaches down to 
Lomonossoff ; the second to Karamsin ; and the 
third to our own time. In the first division we 
witness the earliest experiments in the new or ver- 
nacular dialect, and the efforts and perseverance of 
the first authors in settling its principles and rules. 
With Lomonossoff the language of sublime poetry 
and eloquence, properly speaking, may be said to 
have commenced. With Karamsin appeared an 
even, clear, and elegant prose style, and at the 
same time a lighter description of poetry. Having 
thus marked out the rough divisions of the literary 
history of Russia, we may again separate each of 
these divisions into the following sections : 1) A 
review of the political condition of the empire. 2) 
A review of the general enlightenment of the peo- 
ple. 3) A history of the progress of language and 
grammar. 4) A history of poetry and eloquence, 
illustrated by the various authors who attempted 
each branch of letters. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 



PRELIMINARY VIEW 

OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE TO THE COMMENCE- 
MENT OF THE FIRST PERIOD. 

Early history of the Sclavonic race. 

§. 2. The oldest history of the Sclavonic trihes 
is involved in uncertainty (1). It is probable that 
their forefathers came in the earliest times from 
Asia. In the first century after the birth of Christ 
the Sclaves began to occupy their present situa- 
tion. In the fifth century they gave evidence of 
their existence by an attack on the eastern empire, 
and from that time they carried on an uninter- 
rupted war with their neighbours, conquered them 
through their valour, but lost the fruits of their vic- 
tory through the divisions of party jealousy and 
the disunion caused by family disputes ; and were 
frequently subjugated by the superior force of 
powerful enemies, as the Germans, the Warags, 
and the Chosars. In the middle of the ninth cen- 
tury (A. D. 862) the Russian empire was founded ; 
and from this time the proper history of Russia 
becomes divided from the general history of the 
Sclavonic people. In the tenth century the king- 
dom of Poland was founded. The Bohemians had 
since the beginning of the eighth century, pos- 
sessed a government of their own ; and in the ele- 
venth century their country assumed the name of 
a kingdom. The kingdom of Moravia, which had 
been so powerful in the eighth century, fell to 

B 2 



4 THE HISTORY OF 

pieces in the beginning of the tenth, and was di- 
vided between the Hungarians and the Germans. 
The history of the Illyrian, Hungarian, and Ger- 
man Sclaves is connected with the history of those 
nations who have ruled over them. 

(1) The nations of the Sclavonic race, which now in- 
habit the greatest part of the east of Europe, and 
rule the whole of northern Asia, as far as the very 
borders of America, are 

1) The Russians, the most powerful of all the 
Sclavonic tribes. 

2) The Poles, the second Sclavonic nation which 
asserted its independence. 

3) The Bohemians, or Tscheks, now subject to 
Germany ; with these the Moravian Sclaves are 
associated. 

4) The Illyrian Sclaves: that is, the Servians7Bul- 
garians, Bosnians, Dalmatians, and others, who 
occupy the whole territory from the banks of 
the Danube to the Adriatic and Black seas, and 
which for the most part are subject either to 
Turkey or Austria. 

5) The Hungarian Sclaves : as the Sclavonians, 
the Croats, the Russians scattered round the 
Carpathian mountains, and others. With these 
must be reckoned also the Sclavish inhabitants 
of Steyermark, Karnthen, and Krain. 

6) The German Sclaves, or Wends; who occupy 
Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia, Lusatia, and 
as far as the banks of the Elbe; although for 
the most part these have lost the language of 
their ancestors. 

Manners and Customs of the Sclaves. 

§ 3. The ancient Sclaves were a hardy and cou- 
rageous race, and distinguished themselves by all 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 5 

the virtues and vices which are found among al- 
most every people in their infancy ; by their love 
of freedom, their rapacity and lawlessness in war, 
and their good-heartedness and hospitality at home. 
The Sclaves occupied themselves from the earliest 
times in tending cattle, and in agriculture — in some 
sorts of trade, and a few rough manufactures. They 
loved music, and composed national and war songs, 
which however have not descended to our times. 
They had some idea of arithmetic and chronology, 
but till the ninth century very few of them could 
either read or write a . Their religion was heathen- 
ish, and included the worship of many gods, and 
the offering of sacrifices ; they seem nevertheless 
to have had some conception of a supreme Being. 

The Sclavonic Language. 

§ 4. It is probable that the Sclaves spoke a 
common language, which (2), as indeed all the Eu- 
ropean languages, originally was derived from Asia. 
This is confirmed by the resemblance which the 
roots of their words bear to the Greek, Latin, and 
German, as well as to the Sanscrit, the old lan- 
guage of India, in which the sacred writings of the 
Brahmins are preserved. The peculiarities of the 
ancient Sclavonic language are unknown to us ; we 
possess no written memorials of it before the time 
of the division of the Sclavonic races, and (a re- 
markable circumstance !) before the translation of 
the Christian Scriptures into the Sclavish Ian- 

a The Venedians, Sclaves who inhabited the shores of the Baltic, were 
acquainted with the use of letters. On their idol-; arc found inscriptions 
in the Runic or Gothic character. 



6 THE HISTORY OF 

guage by the Greek monks. This language, ac- 
cording to all probability, consisted in the oldest 
times of only one dialect ; afterwards it divided it- 
self into two, namely, the eastern and western (the 
Sclavonic and the Antish), which in the sequel 
formed various distinct branches. All that we know 
of the original Sclavonic language, rests upon the 
evidence of Procopius, the secretary of Belisarius, 
who calls it a barbarous language, and a few Scla- 
vish names preserved and most likely already cor- 
rupted in the works of the Byzantine chroniclers 
— as Mesamir, Kelagast, Ardagast, Pirogast, and 
others. 

(2) All the Sclavonic languages are divided into two 
principal branches — the Eastern and Western* 5 . 

I. The languages of the Eastern branch are — 
1) The Russian, which is less adulterated than 
any of the others by the admixture of foreign 
words. Its originality may be accounted for 
by the circumstance of the Russians being si- 

b Much of the difference of the languages spoken by the eastern and 
western branches, depends (according to Dobrowski's idea) on the dif- 
ferent usage of these words : 

1 . The eastern Sclaves use the preposition ras ; the western, on the 
other hand, use ros. 

2. The eastern Sclaves use the preposition is, where the western have 
substituted the form wui. 

3. Among the eastern Sclaves the word ptiza is in use ; whereas the 
western snpply its place by ptak. 

This explanation, however, is not satisfactory — since the Russians, 
who belong to the eastern branch, use the prepositions ros and ivui, and 
have also the word ptacha. Herr Wostokoff has much more correctly 
observed, that the chief peculiarity of the western dialects consists in the 
interpolation of the letter Schiwetje (pronounced like a French j) and d — 
as, for instance, dzieti Polish, den Russian, the day ; mydlo Polish, 
and muilo Russian, soap; etc. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 7 

tuated in the centre of the other Sclavisn races, 
and having had little immediate intercourse with 
foreign nations, till their language had been 
perfected. Through the fact of the Russians 
having adopted the Greek form of the Christian 
religion, their language was enabled to establish 
and define itself, before it acquired any admix- 
ture of Latin idiom. The words borrowed from 
the Tatars are not numerous, and have not 
encroached upon their Sclavonic synonyms. 
The Russian language has one principal dia- 
lect — the high-Russian — and some cognate 
dialects, of which the most important is the 
little-Russian, which is distinguished from the 
first by the pronunciation, by numerous idioms 
of expression, and by heteroclite anomalies in 
the construction and grammar. The little- 
Russian dialect merited and preserved distinc- 
tion through the long dominion of the Poles in 
the south-west of Russia ; so that it might not 
inaptly be called the Polish provincial dialect. 
The other chief cognate dialect is the tc/tite- 
Russian, which the people speak in Lithuania, 
and in part of Volhynia. This dialect, (called 
also the Russian,) is the language in which the 
works of some writers of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries are written. (See below 
some further information on this head.) The 
remaining dialects bear a closer resemblance to 
the principal one, from which they differ only 
in certain words, (as, for instance, the Sudalish 
dialect, which contains many words entirely un- 
known in the Russian language ; the Olenish, 
which is made up of a mixture of Finlandish 
with Russian, etc.) or else in the pronunciation 
of certain letters, (as, for instance, the dialect 
of Novogorod at the present clay). The purest 
high-Russian \* spoken by the people in the 



THE HISTORY OF 

government of Moscow, and some of the other 
governments near it. In Siberia the dialect of 
Novogorod is preserved tolerably pure, although 
lately corrupted by some provincialisms. 

2) The Church-language, or the proper Sclavonic, 
has been handed down in the ecclesiastical 
records — namely, in the translations of the 
scriptures, and other books connected with the 
church, which have been rendered from the 
Greek into the Sclavonic (Servian) dialect. 
This language had, as we shall afterwards see, 
an immense influence on the formation and cha- 
racter of the modern Russian. 

3) The Illyrian branch — of which the chief forms 
are — 

a) The Servian, (which has several smaller 
dialects — as the Proper Servian, the Bos- 
nian, the Bulgarian, the Sclavonish, the 
Dalmatian, the C%arna-Goratian, or Mon- 
tenegrinian, the Ragusanian, the Sieben- 
burgian, etc.) a language, not very pure, 
but as we are assured remarkably sweet, 
and which is only waiting for some lucky 
accident to awaken from its long sleep of 
obscurity. 

b) The Croatian, and 

c) The Krainian, which has scarcely any 
distinct characteristic, and is much mixed 
with Italian and German. 

II. The languages of the Western branch are — 

1) The Polish, which has lost much of its origi- 
nality, through the intercourse of the Poles 
with Germany and Rome ; but which has the 
same principles of organisation with the other 
Sclavonic languages, and can also boast a rich 
and copious literature. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 9 

2) The Bohemian, or Tschecliisch, which having 
escaped being entirely destroyed by German 
dynasties, and Latin monks, is at last beginning 
again to assert its right of having books written 
of its own. It has also some dialects, as the 
Moravian, the Slowakian, etc. 

3) The Wendish, which the people of Lusatia 
speak. — The poorest of all the Sclavonic lan- 
guages, and which is every day becoming more 
and more encroached upon by the German. 



10 THE HISTORY OF 



BOOK I. 

First Period. From the invention of the Sclavonic 
Alphabet, to the introduction of the National 
Writing : or from the remotest origin of the 
Russian Empire, to the reign of Peter the Great. 
From the middle of the ninth to the end of the 
seventeenth century. 

CHAPTER I. 

From the discovery of the Sclavonic Letters, to the intro- 
duction of the Christian Religion into Russia : that is, 
from the Middle of the Ninth Century to the year 
A.D. 989. 

I. 

Political condition of Russia. 

§ 5. The beginning of the first literary period of 
Russia is marked out in the political world by the 
founding of the Russian empire by the three Wara- 
gian princes, Rurik, SinafF, and Truwor. The 
bold Norsemen found in Russia food for their love 
of fame and conquest. Oleg brought young Rus- 
sia completely under his power, and conquered 
Constantinople. Igor followed his example. Swa- 
tosslaff earned for himself, by his bravery, his bat- 
tles, his spirit, and his misfortunes, an imperishable 
name in history. Wladimir raised Russia by the 
wisdom of his administration, by his friendly inter- 
course with Constantinople, and especially by the 
introduction of the Greek form of the Christian re- 
ligion, to a high degree of political prosperity ; and 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 11 

would have fitted it to succeed at last to the in- 
heritance of the Roman empire in the east, had 
not the unfortunate idea of dividing the empire at 
that time predominated through all Europe. 

II. 

Progress of Enlightenment. 

§ 6. The migration of the Warags into Russia 
had an important influence on the government and 
legislation of the Russians of that time. The 
first princes settled the form of government in 
Russia, introduced taxation, established an army 
and navy, extended trade, encouraged commerce 
with neighbouring nations, and concluded treaties 
with them. In regard, however, to what may be 
properly called enlightenment, the Warags could 
do nothing for the people of Novogorod, and 
Kieff, since they themselves had attained no very 
lofty eminence in education. Intercourse with 
Constantinople, and still more the introduction of 
the Christian religion, opened the road for the ad- 
vance of science and art in Russia. Wladimir 
founded schools for boys, a thing which at that 
time appears to have been so unusual, that the 
mothers, whose children were selected to be put 
into these institutions, mourned for them, as if 
dead ; reading and writing being accounted for 
magic. Architecture, sculpture, and painting 
adorned the new church at KiefF. Philosophers 
and artists came from Greece. Monasteries were 
founded, towns were built, and laws enacted. In 
the court of the princes splendour and luxury pre- 
vailed. 



\2 THE HISTORY OF 

III. 

Influence of the Norse Language. 

§ 7. Under the division, § 4, we have already 
spoken of the condition of the Sclavonic language 
at the arrival of Rurik. The Warags exercised an 
important influence upon the language as it then 
existed. They brought many Norse words into 
use. Later, however, when they had more amal- 
gamated themselves with the Sclaves, they them- 
selves adopted the language of the country ; only 
a few anomalous words and peculiar names re- 
mained in the Russian language as traces of their 
ascendancy (3). 

(3) Such, for instance, are the following Scandinavian 
words. 

1) Icelandish, rod, Russ. r'dd, a row; — kostr, Russ. 
hosier, a wood-stack ; — Jcetill, Russ. kotell, a kettle ; 
— sina, Russ. ssdno, hay; — brynia, Russ. brond, a 
harrow; — slid, Russ. sseVd\ a herring; — gardr, 
Russ. gorod, a town, &c. 

2) Danish and Swedish, torg, Russ. torgg, trade ; — 
laege, Russ. leJcar, a surgeon ; — miod, Russ. medd, 
mead; — morlce, Russ. mrak, darkness; — dal, Russ. 
doll, a valley ; — skrig, Russ. krik, a cry ; — bosemen, 
Russ. besmenn, a steelyard; — dele, Russ. delit, to 
divide ; — tolke, Russ. tolkoivaf, to enlighten, &c. 

3) Finnish, meri, Russ. morje, the sea; — sama, Russ. 
ssamm, self; — hamet, Russ. chomut, a horsecollar; — 
leipo, Russ. chlab, a loaf; — tavara, Russ, towarr, 
wares, &c. 

Translation of the Bible. 

§ 8. Unquestionably the greatest change in the 
language was produced by the Sclavonic transla- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 13 

tion of the Holy Scriptures. The brothers Method 
and Constantine (called Cyril by the monks) who 
lived in the middle of the ninth century, and were 
born in the Greek town Solun, (the present Salo- 
nica,) were the inventors of the Sclavonic Church- 
Alphabet. The first of them was sent by the 
Greek emperor, Michael the Third, into the coun- 
tries inhabited by the Sclaves, where he became 
acquainted with their language. But the other, 
brought up at the court of Constantinople, was a 
priest, librarian to the cathedral of St. Sophia at 
Constantinople, and teacher of philosophy. In the 
year 863 the Moravian princes, Rostislaff, Swato- 
polk, and Kozel, sent to ask for some teachers of 
Christianity from Constantinople. In the follow- 
ing year the brothers, Method and Constantine, 
were sent to them. They invented the Sclavonic 
letters (called after the name of the last, " the al- 
phabet of Cyril,") by setting together the Greek 
characters in different ways, and adding to them a 
description of the peculiar sounds of the Sclavonic 
language, as (be, she, ze, scha, the Hebrew V — 
schtscha, jerr, ui, je or e, ju, ja. After this, they 
translated from the Greek the Acts of the Apostles, 
the Gospels, the Psalms, the Oktoick Hymns c , and 
other books necessary for the service of the church, 
into one of the dialects of the Sclavonic language, 
which at that time resembled the Russian much 
more than now (4). After the introduction of the 
Christian faith into Russia, books on sacred sub- 
jects, which were probably at this time in great re- 

c The Oktoick Hymns are a collection of sacred songs composed foi 
eight voices by John of Damascus. 



14 THE HISTORY OF 

quisition among the baptized Sclaves, were in- 
creased considerably in number ; and hence arose 
among the Russians the two distinct languages — 
the ecclesiastical, or proper Sclavonic language, 
which was for a long time the language in which 
books were exclusively written, and the Russian. 
Through the translation of the Scriptures many 
words and idioms were introduced from the Greek 
into the Sclavonic language ; since the translators 
performed their task almost literally, and finding a 
new and scarcely organized language before them, 
took the liberty of incorporating with it expres- 
sions from a foreign but more perfect language, of 
coining many new words, and even of leaving 
some words of the original entirely unchanged. 
New ideas required also new modes of expression ; 
for instance, Mitropolit, Jjerej, a priest; trapesa, 
the high-altar, etc. etc. It is probable that many 
of these idioms and expressions sounded strange 
and unnatural to the Russians of that period, but 
by degrees, as this new language was heard with 
less and less remark in the ceremonials of the 
church service, their ear grew accustomed to its 
peculiarities, and at last they began to honour 
these recent acquisitions as if they were part of 
their original inheritance. This book-language also 
exercised the greatest influence on the vernacular 
tongue, which, however, by no means lost on that 
account half its originality. We repeat our above 
remark (§ 4.) that it is impossible now to conjec- 
ture exactly how far the original Sclavonic lan- 
guage may have been altered by the Greek, since 
we are entirely without any records of the first be- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 1.5 

fore this translation into it from the latter. In the 
mean time also the Russian language, like all living 
languages, has been gradually changed by the pro- 
gress of time, whereas the Sclavonic has been pre- 
served the same in books; except that the tran- 
scribers sometimes found it necessary to make a 
few improvements to render it intelligible, and 
more reconcileable with the now prevailing tongue. 
(4) Some historians assert that this dialect was the 
present Servian language. The oldest transcript of 
the Sclavonic Scriptures extant is a copy of the 
Gospels upon parchment, which was written by the 
Deacon Gregory, in the year 1056, for Ostromir, 
governor of the city Novogorod. This manuscript 
is now in the Imperial Public Library. The Syno- 
dal Library at Moscow possesses another copy of the 
Evangelists upon parchment, written in the year 
1144. In the transcripts of the Scriptures in the 
different centuries, it is easy to remark various alte- 
rations, which have evidently been made on purpose 
by learned copyists. The New Testament and the 
Psalms were printed for the first time at Ostrog, in 
the year 1580, and the whole Bible in 1581, at the 
same place. In the reign of the Empress Elizabeth 
Petrowna, an entire new translation of the Bible was 
accomplished. Now that we are speaking of the 
Ostromir manuscript of the Evangelists, it may be 
as well to say a few words summarily on the subject 
of the ancient handwriting. In the whole of Europe 
there are no earlier manuscripts, than those which 
date from the fifth century' 1 , and of these there are 
not more than ten ; of the sixth century there are 

'' Note of the translator. — The learned author appears to have fallen 
into an unaccountable error here. The liiiiish Museum, and we believi 
Dantzic and Padua also, possess each a manuscript of the third cen 
tury. 



16 THE HISTORY OF 

about twenty ; of the seventh some hundreds ; and 
of the eighth scarcely a thousand, known to exist. 
The oldest Russian manuscripts do not date earlier 
back than the eleventh century, and these are the 
Evangelists of Ostromir, which we have mentioned, 
and the Sbornik e , of the year 1046 or 1076, which 
now is the property of Prince Schtscherbatoff. Of 
the twelfth century we are acquainted with two ma- 
nuscripts of the Evangelists ; the first written on 
parchment by a certain Alexis, for Prince MstisslafF 
Wladimirowitsch, of Novogorod, in the year 1125, 
and the other, which we have mentioned above, of 
the date 1144. Of archives and records, the oldest 
extant is written upon parchment, dated between the 
years 1 128 and 1 132, being a diploma from the Grand 
Prince MstisslafF Wladimirowitsch and his son to a 
tributary prince of Novogorod, called Wsewolod 
Mstisslawitsch f . The oldest Russian records and 
books down to the fifteenth century, and some still 
later, are upon parchment or cotton-paper, which is 
remarkable for its thickness, fineness, and smooth- 
ness ; in the sixteenth century, however, they begin 
to be written upon fine linen paper. The handwrit- 
ing in the oldest manuscripts is a sort of large text 
hand, very like the Russian Church-ivriting, and in 
this the earliest Russian parchment books are writ- 
ten, through the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and 
part of the fourteenth centuries. From the middle 
of the fourteenth century, the half text hand had be- 
gun to be used, and in the fifteenth the running 
hand was introduced from Poland, and brought into 
common use. 



c Sbornik, a prayer book ; also in former times any Russian manu- 
script was so called, which contained writings upon various subjects. 

f A masterly and detailed explanation of this document may be found 
in the 15th and 16th numbers of the European Messenger for the year 
1818. — (" In dem 15. and 16. Hefte des Boten von Europa.") 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 17 

Literature. 

§ 9. This portion of Russian history contains no 
memorial of proper Russian literature. A few po- 
pular ballads, in which mention is made of the 
pagan gods, of Wladimir's banquets, and of the he- 
roes of his time, may perhaps still exist in out- 
days, but not in their original state. They have 
necessarily been much corrupted by oral tradition 
in descending to us through the lapse of centuries. 
Besides the translation of the Bible, (which how- 
ever we do not possess complete in manuscript, 
but merely the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, 
and the Psalms, and these not earlier than the ele- 
venth century, see above, annot. 4,) two other do- 
cuments of the language of that time have been 
preserved, namely, Treaties concluded with the 
Greeks by the princes Oleg and Igor, between the 
years 912 and 945. In these the Waragian names 
of some noble Russians are observable : as Karl, 
Farlaff, Weremid, Rulaff, Stemid, and so forth ; and 
several peculiar rhetorical expressions deserve par- 
ticular remark. The other is the speech of Swa- 
tosslaff to the army, a most valuable memorial of 
ancient Russian eloquence; it is however extremely 
improbable that Nestor has given us the original 
words of the hero. It is also not unlikely that the 
above-mentioned treaties were translated by this 
annalist from the Greek, since the Greek method 
of reckoning time is used in them throughout. 



18 THE HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER II. 

From the introduction of the Christian religion into Rus- 
sia, to the throwing off the yoke of the Tatars; or from 
the year 989 to 1462. 

I, 

Political condition : 

a) to the time of the Tatar invasion. 

§ 10. Wladimir's successor, Jarosslaff, preserved 
the splendour and power of his throne by consoli- 
dating the separate and subordinate jurisdictions 
with the chief government, and by victories over 
foreign enemies. It was not till he found himself 
at the point of death that he bequeathed as a legacy 
to the century in which he had lived, a new division 
of Russia, which from this time became a scene of 
disorder, civil strife, bloodthirstiness, and crime. 
Enemies assailed it from without and within ; ne- 
vertheless it had acquired so much more real po- 
litical strength than its neighbours, that for two 
centuries it successfully withstood their attacks. 
For the subjugation of Russia, a whole section of 
the world was required, 

h) during the Tatar domination. 

§11. In the first half of the thirteenth century, 
the formidable Mongols, who received from the 
Russians of that time the name of Tatars, poured 
themselves forth, like a fiery and bloody torrent, 
over the whole face of Russia, and taking advan- 
tage of their own impetuous multitudes, and at the 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 19 

same time of the domestic divisions of the Rus- 
sians, brought almost the whole of the provinces 
under their dominion. The successors of St. Wladi- 
mir were for two centuries vassals of the savage 
Bathes and Gajuks. The undaunted Alexander 
Nefskj, the talented Johan Kalita, did not venture 
to think of direct resistance, but contented them- 
selves with softening the rigour of their insolent 
tyrants, and satisfying their rapacity for plunder. 
The Russians dragged on their existence in a state 
of shameful servitude, and forgot their former glory. 
The whole of the south and south-western divisions 
fell under the authority of the Lithuanian prince, 
Ghedyminn. During his sway, the surrounding 
appanages gradually dwindled away, and the power 
of the Grand-Prince of Moscow increased. At the 
same time also, the dominion of the Tatars, through 
schisms and differences among themselves, some- 
what relaxed. At last the first glimpse of deliver- 
ance approached. The Grand-Prince Dimitrj Jo- 
hannowitsch, by his victory over the Tatars on the 
field of Kulikowitsch, A. D. 1380, laid the founda- 
tion of the emancipation of his native country. 
The Tatars indeed several times after this, made 
inroads upon Russia ; but after a short time, in- 
stead of thinking any longer of the subjugation of 
a foreign country, they were obliged to attend to 
the maintenance of their own existence ; and in the 
year A. D. 1462, the Grand-Prince Johann Wassil- 
jewitsch mounted the throne of Russia entirely 
free and independent. 



c2 



20 THE HISTORY OF 

II. 

Civilisation : 

a) to the time of the Tatar invasion. 

§ 12. Jarosslaff followed with zeal and with suc- 
cess the good example set him by Wladimir. He 
loved religion, and with it also enlightenment. He 
invited learned Greeks from Constantinople, pro- 
cured the translation of a number of ecclesiastical 
works into Russian, and ordered them, as well as 
other books, to be kept in the cathedral of St. So- 
phia at KiefF, for the use and benefit of the public. 
He founded at Novogorod the first school for the 
common people, including three hundred boys; and 
dispersed priests into the provincial towns for the 
instruction of the people. The most famous me- 
morial of his time is a Russian law book, known 
under the name of " Russian Rights f ." At the be- 
ginning of this division of our history, Russia stood 
on the highest eminence with regard to civilisation, 
and far beyond many of the other European com- 
munities, which were groaning under the oppres- 
sive bondage of the feudal system. Domestic di- 
visions and disturbances extinguished again the 
light which had been scarcely kindled by Wladimir 
and his son — but Providence preserved a spark of 
the holy fire. While the Russian empire was one 
scene of distraction, blood, and rapine, the lower 
order of monks, protected rather by the pious faith 
of the times than by the stone walls of their con- 

1 Russkaja Prawda, 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 21 

vents, occupied themselves with the sciences, the 
arts, and literature, and infused also a love for these 
noble pursuits into the minds of some of their lay 
contemporaries. Many monks applied themselves 
to the study of medicine ; others to the computa- 
tion of calendars: many travelled into foreign coun- 
tries, or handed down in their quiet cells the names 
and deeds of their forefathers and contemporaries 
to immortality. Among the Russian princes, besides 
Jarosslaff Wladimirowitsch, others distinguished 
themselves also by their love of letters : particu- 
larly Konstantin Wsewolodowitsch and Wladimir 
Wsewolodowitsch Monomach ; of whom the last 
occupies a considerable post in the list of Russian 
authors ; but unfortunately the work of the first 
(a history of the Russian princes) has not descended 
to us. The daughter of the prince of Polozk, St. 
Euphrosyne, occupied herself night and day in the 
transcription of church books. The princess Wer- 
chuslawa was a strenuous protector of learned men. 
Down to the end of the twelfth century, foreigners 
had been employed for the designs and building of 
the churches; but in the year 1194, the old Sus- 
dalishian monastery was beautifully completed in 
the exterior by Russian architects, who were mem- 
bers of the ecclesiastical profession. About the 
same time, the architect Milonegh-Peter built a 
stone wall at Kieff, on the banks of the Dnieper, 
which excited the astonishment of his cotempora- 
ries. The oldest Prussian painter was St. Alimpj, 
a monk of the subterranean monastery at Kieff, 
who had acquired his art among the Greeks. Tin's 
industrious and disinterested monk painted pic- 



22 THE HISTORY OF 

tures of the saints for all the churches ; for which 
he refused to accept any remuneration. The old 
manuscripts were illuminated with various designs, 
in which we cannot help admiring the durability of 
the colours, which through the lapse of more than 
six centuries have retained all their original fresh- 
ness, 

b) during the Tatar domination. 

§ 13. The Tatars destroyed almost all memo- 
rials of civil institutions, burnt down whole cities, 
and thereby caused great havoc among the ancient 
manuscripts. South-western Russia, the cradle of 
Russian civilisation, fell under the Lithuanian yoke. 
The political relations of Russia with the rest of 
Europe were interrupted. The general confusion 
of the empire occasioned in turn the corruption 
and stultification of the people ; to curb their un- 
bridled passions, recourse was had to severe cor- 
poral punishments, debasing to humanity. The 
Russians were indebted to the Christian religion 
for all the morality and love of country which they 
still retained, as well as for the enlightenment which 
existed among the people. The Tatars, guided by 
a cunning policy, favoured the Russian clergy. 
They enriched the cloisters, and added to the num- 
ber of monks, who however, in putting off their 
worldly habiliments, did not on that account cease 
to be Russians. The servants of the Greek-Rus- 
sian church did not use their influence and riches 
to a bad end ; whilst they were purified from the 
lust of power and from partizanship in the political 
affairs of the empire, they discharged the duty of 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 23 

faithful subjects, and laboured to keep alive the 
holy fires of religion and patriotism among the peo- 
ple. Within the walls of the monasteries, science 
and art were concealed in safety ; and there the 
old chronicles and books of the church were com- 
piled and copied. The connection of the clergy 
with Constantinople was still kept up, and books 
on temporal as well as spiritual subjects were 
brought from thence. The metropolitan (called 
also from these men the patriarchal) library, which 
is so rich in ancient manuscripts, was established 
in Moscow. In the middle of the fourteenth cen- 
tury, Spiridon StrogonofF brought with him from 
the Hordes the arithmetic tables, which afterwards 
came into universal use. In the fifteenth cen- 
tury paper made from rags, and gunpowder, were 
adopted. About this time also, money began to 
be coined ; magnificent buildings continued to be 
erected, principally by foreign architects. 

III. 

The Language. 

§ 14. During the lapse of this period many 
changes occurred in the Russian language. The 
vernacular tongue separated itself more and more 
from the other Sclavonic languages, the Polish 
and Bohemian, as well as from the church-lan- 
guage. At the same time it is probable that many 
idioms of these last, and even Grsecisrns, were 
transplanted into the vernacular. New grammati- 
cal phrases came into fashion, and new words were 
invented. The influence of the Mongol language 



24 THE HISTORY OF 

was perceptible, but yet not important. A few 
Tatar words (as, for instance, den'ga, a small cop- 
per coin ; altuin, an imaginary coin of three 
copecks ; kaftan, a coat ; and so forth,) were 
adopted in the language, but they never super- 
ceded, although they encroached upon the original 
Russian. Further than this we can supply nothing 
but conjectures with regard to the changes in the 
vernacular language ; for the Russians themselves 
possess scarcely any memorials of that period. 
The church-language continued unchanged ; al- 
though the transcribers occasionally altered and 
improved a few phrases and expressions, in order 
to accommodate it more to the prevailing dialect. 
The book-language of the chronicles, annals, and 
so forth, was originally the same as the church- 
language, which, however, altered itself by degrees. 
In the fourteenth century the old Sclavonic book- 
language changed into the middle ; and this again, 
in the seventeenth century, was converted into the 
new — the customary one in printed books (5). 

(5) The principal features which distinguish the old 
Sclavonic language from the middle, are, among 
others — 

1) The use of the half vowels, as, for instance, 
iv Ik, frg, ssVsa, sst'sd; instead of ivolk, a wolf; 
torg, a trade ; sslesa, lamentation ; sstesd, a 
footpath. This form remains in the Bohemian 
and Servian languages. 

2) The avoiding to join particular letters in con- 
tact with others. After the aspirated letters 
(g, Jc, ch) the old language never admitted the 
soft-sounding ones, je,jd, i, ju,ja, and the half- 
vowel jerf ; and after the hissing consonants 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 25 

{she, tsclie, scha, sc/ttscha, ze) it admitted no o, 
ui, or j err. At that time, for instance, the name 
of the town Kieff was written Kuijeff, instead 
of Kijeff. 



IV. 
Literature. 

§ 15. In the course of our second period, the path 
of what may be properly called Russian literature 
widens considerably. Religious tracts, chronicles, 
and poems appeared. The Russian Rights is a 
work which does not properly belong to literature, 
but is of inestimable value, as the oldest memorial 
we possess of Russian legislation, and the know- 
ledge of jurisprudence which then existed. It 
must be remembered, moreover, that it is not an 
original work of the Sclaves, but entirely borrowed 
from the Norsemen (6). During the time of the 
Tatar domination religious and ecclesiastical books 
were multiplied, chronicles were compiled, and 
various historical and moral tales were translated 
from the Greek. For instance, Of the courage 
of Alexander of Macedon, from Arrian ; Of the 
Heroes of Antiquity ; Of the Gods of India ; and 
so forth. The clergy wrote exhortations and 
epistles to their flocks. Towards the end of this 
period the productions of Russian literature become 
much more numerous, but not perhaps to the 
degree that might be expected in an independent 
and free people. During the time of the Tatar 
domination, as is supposed, were also composed 
some songs and ballads, principally historical, and 
relating to the glorious days of Wladimir the Great. 



26 THE HISTORY OF 

" The force of imagination, languishing under the 
yoke of the unbelievers, sought to refresh itself by 
recollections of the by-gone glory of its father- 
land !" says Herr. v. Karamsin h . 

(6) The famous Russian Rights were found by Tatisch- 
schefF among the annalists of Novogorod, and laid 
by him before the Academy of Sciences in the year 
1738, but published at Petersburg by Schlozer in 
the year 1767. It was printed the second time, from 
Tatischtscheff's copy in the Continuation of the old 
Russian Library, in the year 1786 ; and the third 
time, after an old copy of the Church Rights 
(Kormtschaja Kniga' 1 ), in the third volume of the 
same Library. The fourth edition came out at 
Petersburg with explanatory notes by Boltin, and a 
translation into modern Russia, in the year 1792; 
and again in 1799. In the first volume of the Rus- 
sian Memorabilia, published in 1815 at Moscow, 
by the Moscow society for the study of history and 
antiquities, the Russian Rights again appeared, 
being printed from the copy of the Church Rights, 
which were preserved in the Synodal library, and 
written towards the end of the thirteenth century : 
probably in the year 1282. This last edition is far 
better than any of the preceding k . 

Writers. 

§ 16. The authors of this period, copies of whose 
works have descended to us, are the following : 

11 On the subject of the Russian popular songs, see above, § 9. 

' That is, the Nomo-Kanon, or Rights of the Clergy, collected by the 
Patriarch Nikon. 

k A small work on the Russian Rights appeared by the title of Neu- 
mann's Explanation of the Russian Rights from the First to the Second 
Prawdaw ; extracted from the studies for a fundamental acquaintance 
with early history of Russia, by Job... Phil. Gust. Ewers. Dorpat, 1830. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 27 

A. before the Tatar invasion. 

1. LlJKA SCHIDATA, 01' 5. MoNOMACH. 

Schirata. 6. Daniel. 

2. Nestor. 7. Simon. 

3. Wassilj. 8. St. Cyril. 

4. Nikiphor. 

Among the most valuable records of this epoch 
that we possess, should be reckoned the old chi- 
valrous poem composed in the twelfth century, and 
called the Address to the Army of Igor. This 
work, the action of which lies in the year 1185, is 
written in the Russian vernacular language of that 
period, which approaches very nearly to the style 
of Nestor, and of the translation of the Bible. In 
it are found Polish words, a conclusive proof that 
the author must have lived in south-western Rus- 
sia, and expressions which are now entirely lost, 
as, for instance, segsiza, charalushniij, scheres- 
chiriii, etc. (7.) From certain allusions in this 
poem, it is easy to perceive that the author must 
have had other and older poets in his eye, whose 
works and very name have vanished in the lapse 
of time. 

(7) The Address to the Army of Igor was discovered 
in the year 1796, by Count A. J. Mussin-Puschkin, 
in the book which bears the title of Chronograph. 
He purchased it from Joil' (Joel), archimandite of 
the Jarosslavian cloister. Shame! that the original, 
which contained also other historical and ecclesiasti- 
cal treasures, soon after its discovery was again lost! 
This poem appeared in the year 1800 at Moscow, 
under the title of a Heroic Song, on the march of 
Igor Swatosslawitsch, tributary prince of Novogorod- 
Ssawerskj, against the Polowzers; written in the 



28 THE HISTORY OF 

old Russian language at the end of the twelfth 
century, with a version in the common language of 
the present day. On this translation, and the notes 
which accompanied it, were employed A. F. Ma- 
linofskj, N. N. Bantiisch-Kamenskj, and Count A. 
J. Mussin-Puschkin. A second edition, with anno- 
tations and a new translation, is to he found in the 
first section of works and translations published 
under the direction of the Russian Academy at 
Petersburg, 1805. Since this have appeared still 
more reprints, translations, illustrations, and poetical 
versions of this metrical romance. Pastor Sederholm 
published it in 1825, at Moscow and Leipsic, trans- 
lated into German metre, and with historical notes. 
8) The author of this poem mentions by name the an- 
cient poet Bojan. 



1. Cyril. 5. Dimitrj. 

2. Cyprian. 6. Ignatj. 

3. Photj. 7. Isaija. 

4. Grigorj Samblak. 8. Ssopronj. 

CHAPTER III. 

From the deliverance from the Tatar yoke, to the reign of 
Peter the Great; or from A.D. 1462 to 1689. 

I. 

Political condition : 

a) to the time when the house of Romanoff mounted 
the throne. 

§ 17. The emancipation of Russia from the yoke 
of the Mongols, is one of the most important 
epochs in relation both to politics, morals, and lite- 
rature. John the Third, who established on a firm 
basis the monarchical government of Russia, raised 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 29 

it to the same footing with the other kingdoms of 
Europe, gave it municipal laws, extended its bound- 
aries, and fortified them. His successor, Wassilj 
Johannowitsch, trod in the footsteps of his father. 
John, surnamed the Strong, subjugated three king- 
doms to his sceptre ; namely, those of Casan, Astra- 
can, and Siberia. Under the administration of 
Feodor Johannowitsch and Boris Godunoff Russia 
did not loose in greatness, and was advancing with 
rapid strides upon the road which had been le- 
velled for it by its illustrious sovereigns ; but never- 
theless, the hopes excited by these prosperous 
times were destined to remain unfulfilled. After 
the unfortunate end of Boris Godunoff, the cala- 
mities of disorder, of domestic discord, and an un- 
successful foreign war came all at once upon Russia. 
At last its sufferings were put an end to by the 
patriotism of a Minin, a Trubezkoj, and a Pozhars- 
skj, and particularly by the elevation of the house 
of Romanoff to the throne. 

b) under the Romanoff dynasty. 

§ 18. Michail Feodorowitsch dedicated the whole 
time of his reign to the healing of the deep wounds 
which had been inflicted upon Russia by her do- 
mestic and foreign foes. He put a stop to the 
wars with surrounding countries, laid the founda- 
tion of peace and order in Russia itself, and, unam- 
bitious of the fame of a conqueror, sought a different 
and not less durable renown in the contentment 
and prosperity of his subjects. The Czar Alexcj 
Michailowitz distinguished his reign by a successful 
war against the Poles, the result of which was the 



30 THE HISTORY OF 

recovery of White and Little Russia, and the resto- 
ration of the old towns of Smolensk and Kieffto 
his dominions. During this period Russia became 
more and more deeply connected with the general 
political relations of Europe ; and w 7 hilst she at- 
tracted notice by her bravery and victories in the 
field, began to be not less remarkable for the tact 
and enterprise of her diplomatic negociations. The 
Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch made his short reign il- 
lustrious by the pacification of the long-pernicious 
feuds about priority of rank. 

II. 

Civilisation .- 
a) under John the Third and Wassilj. 

§ 19. During this period the enlightenment of 
the people made surprising advances. In the reign 
of John the Third the mines of Perm were disco- 
vered, trade rapidly increased, and affluence began 
to be known among the Russians. The marriage 
of the Grand-Prince with the Greek princess So- 
phia, added new splendours to the age in which he 
flourished. Numerous Greeks, who followed in 
her suite, enriched the library at Moscow with 
valuable manuscripts. The celebrated Bolognese 
architect, Fioravanti-Aristotele, was invited from 
Venice, and he built in Moscow the magnificent 
cathedral of the Ascension of the Virgin. Many 
other buildidgs, as for instance, the church of the 
Annunciation, the tower of the Kremlin, and the 
palaces of some of the Moscovite Boyars, adorned 
Moscow. Other arts also, conducive rather to use 
and convenience, than to luxury, were now first 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 31 

practised ; as the founding of cannon and bells, and 
the minting of money. Good order was established 
throughout the realm by the promulgation of mu- 
nicipal regulations, based upon clear and funda- 
mental principles of right. These statutes received 
some additions from Johann's successor, Wassilj 
Johannowitsch, who introduced in Novogorod the 
beneficial Prissashian laws 1 . Under his reign also, 
many foreign artists, especially architects and paint- 
ers, were invited to Russia. The Russians them- 
selves soon began to show talent for the arts. 
Feodor JedinejefF made himself reputed among 
ecclesiastical painters, by painting the church of 
the Annunciation. The portraits of the Grand- 
Prince were painted by Russian artists; but the 
regular sciences, as philosophy, astronomy, physic, 
and medicine, were still in their infancy in Russia. 
The physicians in Moscow were foreigners, and any 
one obtained the name of a surgeon, who was ac- 
quainted with a few wholesome prejmrations of the 
most simple herbs. 

b) under John the Fourth, and to the time when the 
family of Romanoff mounted the throne. 

§ 20. Under the administration of John Wassil- 
jewitsch, surnamed the Strong, Russia, by means 
of her traffic by sea from Archangel, was brought 
into much closer connection with the rest of Eu- 
rope. English and German physicians came to 
Russia. The Czar, severe towards his own sub- 
jects, knew well how to pay court to foreigners. 
He ordered a school to be erected in every town 

1 That is, u Tlie laws of the sworn." 



32 THE HISTORY OF 

for the children of the most pious and right-minded 
Christians,, for their instruction in reading, writing, 
and church music. The most important event of 
this period was the establishment of a printing- 
house in Moscow (9). The ecclesiastical and civil 
laws, (the Sstoglaff, and the Ssudebnik,) which were 
intended to serve as a supplement to the above- 
mentioned code, constitute one of the most remark- 
able memorials of the reign of John. Under the 
dominion of the Czars Feodor Johannowitsch and 
Boris Feodowitsch Godunoff, domestic and foreign 
commerce was extended. Foreign artizans, espe- 
cially miners, founders, and weavers, journeyed into 
Russia, and brought with them their manufactures, 
their arts, and their experience. In the reign of 
Boris, the first general chart of Russia was drawn 
out. Numbers of foreign officers served in the 
Russian army. Foreign princes visited the bril- 
liant court of Moscow. The Czar sent eighteen 
young Russians, selected from the poor nobility, 
into foreign countries to study languages and 
sciences. Five of them were entrusted to the care 
of the chief magistrate of Liibeck, to acquire there 
the German and Latin languages : three were made 
pages at the court of Charles the Tenth of Sweden. 
The heir apparent, prince Feodor Borissowitsch, 
received, what appeared in those times really ex- 
traordinary, a thorough European education. The 
Czar Boris encouraged particularly the mathemati- 
cal sciences, and paid to the tutor of his son a 
yearly stipend of ten thousand rubles, in money 
of that time. But on a sudden a storm arose ; and 
the auspicious day-dawn, which gave so bright a 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. S3 

promise of a glorious noon, disappeared from the 
horizon. The shade of the murdered prince Di- 
mitrj sought revenge : years of calamity and trial 
succeeded ; rivers of blood were shed ; and cities 
were laid in ashes. The sciences, the arts and lite- 
rature, retreated before the tumult of war, and the 
terrors of anarchy. 

9) The art of printing was introduced into Russia in 
the year 1553; that is, above a hundred years after 
its first invention. The first printing in the Scla- 
vonic language had appeared long before in Cracow, 
and the first books printed there were, The Psalter, 
in 1481: The Tschassosslowez m : and the Octoick 
Hymns, in 1491, which were prepared under the su- 
perintendence of the first Sclavish printer, Sswanto- 
polk Fiol, for the use of the Sclaves who then dwelt 
round the Danube. After this appeared numerous 
clerical works, in the Sclavonic language, at Prague, 
(as for instance, a translation of some of the biblical 
books into Russian, by Doctor Franz Skorina, from 
Polosk), at Wiln a, at Venice, in Servia, at Tubingen, 
and other places. The Czar John Was silje wits ch 
complained justly at an assembly of the clergy at 
Moscow, A. D. 1551, of the inaccuracy of the exist- 
ing copies of the Scriptures ; and in 1553, the erec- 
tion of a printing-office in Moscow was determined 
on. This building occupied a long time in its com- 
pletion ; it was not till the year 1564 that the first 
book issued from the Moscow press: viz. The Acts 
of the Apostles. These were printed by two work- 
men — a Holstein deacon, named Johann FodorofF, 
and Peter TimothejefF MstisslafzefF, with tolerable 
uniformity and neatness ; but with numerous faults 
in the orthography, especially with regard to the 

m Tschassosslowez : that is, the Prayer Book, which contained the 
forms used in the church services. 



34 THE HISTORY OF 

placing of the marks over the letters. For inter- 
punctuation only the period and the comma were 
used, and these frequently appear in the wrong 
places. In a short time, the printers being accused 
of heresy by bigoted and ignorant men, found them- 
selves obliged to retire into Poland, and recom- 
menced their labours at Wilna and Lemberg. Jo- 
hann FodorofF afterwards moved to the printing esta- 
blishment which the Prince Constantine Constanti- 
nowitsch had instituted at Ostrog ; (see below). At 
this press were printed, in the year 1580, The New 
Testament ; and in 1581, the entire Bible in the Scla- 
vonic language. From the Moscow press appeared 
subsequently to 1577, The Psalter: Two Triods n , 
(namely, the Triod, or Church-service from the ele- 
venth Sunday after Trinity to Easter Sunday, and 
the Triod from Easter-Sunday to All Saints): The 
Octoick Hymns : The Acts of the Apostles, a second 
time : The Legends of All the Saints : The Mass 
Book of the Patriarch Hiob : and the Gospel. The 
latter was issued from the royal residence of the 
Czar Wassilj Johannowitsch Schujskj during the year 
1606, but being neglected by him, was not much bet- 
ter executed than the former impression. In the 
unquiet times which succeeded, the building which 
contained the printing-office at Moscow was de- 
stroyed ; printing however was persevered in unin- 
terruptedly even under Pseudo-Demetrius. The 
Czar Michael Feodorowitsch, after he had again ar- 
ranged and enlarged the printing establishment at 
Moscow, collected with care the best copies of the 
church books, and caused them to be printed. In the 
year 1643, the Hieromonach Arssenj (the founder 

a The Triods are the church books containing the canons, which are 
arranged in triple clauses, or consist of three clauses each. 

Hieromonach : that is, a monk who is allowed to perform the duty 
of a priest, but not to solemnise marriage. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 35 

of the Graeco-Latino-Sclavonic school) brought into 
use the new types of fine oblong letters, which are 
still called at the Moscow synodal printing-house the 
Arssenic alphabet. Under the Patriarch Joseph, 
A. D. 1645, a distinct stone building was erected for 
the press, and the art of printing was brought to a 
high degree of perfection. Under the reign of Alexej 
Michailowitsch this style of printing had made so great 
progress, that a complete cycle of the church books 
was published in that form ; after that time, the cus- 
tom of writing the church books in manuscript was 
discontinued. Among the books for the laity were 
printed the Art of War, A. D. 1647, and the Ulos- 
henijeP, A. D. 1649. 

c) under the Romanoffs. 

§ 21. The enlightenment of the people is the 
sure companion of the strength, the greatness, and 
the prosperity of an empire. Scarcely had Michael 
secured peace at home and abroad, than the fruits 
of his beneficial exertions appeared. In remote Si- 
beria the foundations of towns and fortresses were 
laid ; the Russians discovered the Eastern ocean ; 
foreign commerce received an impulse by treaties 
concluded with England and France, and inland 
trade advanced in a proportionate degree. The 
great annual fair of lrbitsk, which still retains its 
repute, was instituted in a distant part of Russia. 
On the banks of the Wolga, men began to cultivate 
the vine. The army received its organisation from 
the model of foreign troops. In the year 1643, the 
Hieromonach Arssenj, a Greek by birth, founded, 

p Uloshenije : the celebrated code of old laws down to the year 
1G49, a German translation of which was printed at Dantzic in 4to. 
in 1723, under the title Allgemcines russ. Lundrcclil. 

d2 



36 THE HISTORY OF 

with the sanction of the Patriarch Filaret, a Greek 
and Latin Sclavonic school at the patriarchal court 
at Moscow. The government resolved to institute 
similar schools for learning in different parts of 
Russia. Under the reign of Alexej Michailowitsch, 
manufactories of cloth, glass, and hats were esta- 
blished, and founderies were erected ; as for in- 
stance, at Tula. A German post was regulated 
from Moscow to Riga and Wilna. Many foreign 
books were translated into Russian, as for instance, 
The Art of War, which we mentioned above. Ger- 
man artists and officers thronged in great numbers 
to enter the Russian service ; the Russians how- 
ever did not yet venture to imitate their manners 
and habits. In the year 1648 the strait which di- 
vides Asia from America, afterwards called Bering's 
Strait, was discovered (10). The most celebrated 
memorial of this reign is, The Universal Law of the 
Land, which, in compliance with a ukase of the Czar 
to that effect, was compiled by the Boyar Nikita 
Iwanowitsch Odojefskj, the Prince Semen Wassil- 
jewitsch Prosorofskj, the high marshal of the court, 
Feodor Feodorowitsch Wolkonskj, and by the se- 
cretaries, Gabriel Leontjeff and Feodor Gribojedoff, 
containing a collection of all the civil and criminal 
laws of Russia. This code received the ratification 
of the Czar, and was promulgated in print at Mos- 
cow, A. D. 1649. The sciences and literature 
made signal progress in Russia, after Little Rus- 
sia, and with it the clerical academy at Kieff, 
founded in 1588, was incorporated with the em- 
pire. The clergy, educated at Polish or Italian 
seminaries of learning, brought their united talents 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 37 

and information to Moscow. In the year 1682, a 
Sclavonic academy for Greek and Latin was founded 
at the Saikonosspasskish monastery — the subjects 
of instruction there were grammar,, poetry, rhetoric, 
logic, philosophy, and theology. All teachers, even 
those in private houses, were made subject to this 
academy. No one dared trust his children to the 
education of masters professing a different creed. 
In the year 1685, two Greeks, the brothers Johan- 
nikj and Sophronj Lichud, were appointed teachers 
at this academy ; and to their ability it was in 
great measure indebted for its early success. The 
schisms and disputes which prevailed at this time 
among the Russian-Greek clergy with regard to 
certain dogmas, (most of them raised and fomented 
by the Jesuits and their disciples,) and the violence 
of sectarian bigots, did not promote the progress 
of general enlightenment ; but they gave occasion 
to several beautifully written clerical epistles and 
entire works. 

During the administration of the empire by the 
Princess Sophia Alexejewna, Prince Wassili Was- 
siljewitsch Goliziin endeavoured, by his own exam- 
ple, to introduce the best taste in architecture, by 
imitating the Italians; in which attempt he was fol- 
lowed by many of the principal nobles. Painting 
was no longer restricted to copying the represen- 
tations of the saints. The progress of printing (at 
Moscow, Kieff, Tschernigow, Novogorod, Ssiiwer- 
skj, and in some of the monasteries) could compete 
with that of any contemporary nation. In the 
years 1677-1680, the map of Russia, which had 
been prepared under GodunofF (see § 20), was hn- 



38 THE HISTORY OF 

proved and enlarged, and the hydro-graphical part 
of it in particular was marked out with singular 
accuracy. It extended to the Crimea, included 
some part of the Black sea, and the greatest part 
of the Caspian, the sea of Aral and Bucharia, but 
only reached into Siberia as far as the Ob. The 
apothecaries and physicians were at this time, as 
formerly, exclusively foreigners. 

10) Their settlement in Siberia afforded the Russians 
their first facilities for making geographical disco- 
veries. From the banks of the earliest known river, 
the Ob, they pursued their way towards the east, 
and discovered the Jenisej and the Pasida. When 
and how the rivers Chotanga, Anabara, Olenek, and 
Lena were first discovered, is not known. The Czar 
Johann Wassiljewitsch sent out three ships of dis- 
covery to explore the Frozen ocean ; but after having 
passed through the Straits of Waigaz, they were all 
lost. In the year 1636, Jelissej Busa, a cossack cor- 
poral, was despatched to the Frozen Ocean to make 
discoveries. He found the river Jana; and his com- 
panions the Indugirka, and the Alasija. By whom 
the river Kowiima was discovered is unknown. In 
the year 1644, the cossack Michael Staduchin, laid 
the foundations of the Nishnekowumisch Ostrog q , 
and gave the earliest intimation of the Tschukts, 
and of the islands lying about the rivers Jana and 
Kowiima. The first traveller who visited the coun- 
try of the Tschukts was Isaias IgnatjefF. Enriched 
by his dealings with the inhabitants of those regions, 
he excited others to travel into the adjoining dis- 
tricts. In the year 1647, Fodot AlexejefF, a native 
of Cholmogor, and the cossack Semen IwanofF 
DeshnefT, were sent out in four ships of discovery 

'i That is, a place fenced with palisades. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 39 

(Kotschen), from the mouth of the river Kowiima to- 
wards the east ; but found themselves compelled to 
return again by the thickness of the ice. In the 
following year they were again sent out with seven 
ships. In this voyage Deshneff solved one of the 
most important geographical problems : namely, that 
Asia is not joined with America. With three of his 
ships he sailed through Bering's Strait into the 
great ocean. The Czar Alexej Michailowitsch con- 
ceived the design of making his subjects acquainted 
as much as possible with navigation. The ship Orell, 
(the Eagle,) which he built, made a voyage in the 
Caspian sea, and probably her excursiou might 
have extended much further, had it not been burnt 
by the robber Str'nka (Stephen) Rasin. 

III. 

The Language. 

§ 22. ff The Sclavonic language," says Karam- 
sin, vii. 226, " at this period (in the sixteenth cen- 
tury) was known from the Arctic Circle to the Adri- 
atic sea, and from the Thracian Bosphorus to the 
Nile. It was spoken at the court of the Turkish 
sultans by their wives, as well as by the renegades 
and the mamelukes." The Russian language, how- 
ever, as it improved, differed considerably from the 
other Sclavonic tongues. As the first half of our 
first division of this period may be called the Greek 
era, and the other the Tatar era, so the third in- 
terval of time might not improperly be styled the 
Polish era. In the sixteenth century the Bohe- 
mians and Poles were already in possession of good 
grammars and dictionaries, the fruit of their early 
enlightenment, and long familiarity with letters. 



40 THE HISTORY OF 

The prevailing traffic with Poland, the supremacy 
of the Poles in south-western Russia, the efforts of 
the Catholics to convert the Russians who were 
subject to them to their creed, and, lastly, the at- 
tractive power of education and science, all worked 
together in promoting the influence which the 
Polish language assumed over the Russian, and 
which continued even down to the eighteenth cen- 
tury. In the sixteenth century this influence dis- 
played itself among those who were subject to the 
Poles, and in the neighbouring provinces ; the first 
Russian grammars appeared in the shape of weak 
and imperfect attempts, which were drawn up after 
Greek and Latin models, and printed in the coun- 
tries which continued under the dominion of the 
Poles. How many obstructions to the preserva- 
tion of the purity and originality of the Russian 
language ! (11.) The church, or Sclavonic lan- 
guage, was still appropriated to the purpose of 
printing the sacred books. Many clerical writers 
also availed themselves of this language exclusively, 
as the vernacular was found too simple and un- 
formed for the conveyance of sublime and abstract 
truths. At this time, nevertheless, the vernacular 
tongue was in use in all public documents, laws, 
jurisprudential and civil transactions, in corres- 
pondence, and so forth. In this way there existed 
in Russia, throughout the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries, three distinct languages. The 
church language, or proper Sclavonic, in the sacred 
books and the writings of the clergy ; the Russian, 
used by the people in their ordinary business and 
books ; and the White Russian, (which the inhabit- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 41 

ants of Lithuania and Volhynia still speak,) adopted 
in the works which were printed in the provinces 
subject to the Poles, as well as in the writings of 
such of the clergy as had received their education 
at Kieff, Wilna, Prague, and such places. These 
different languages, however, or, more properly 
speaking, dialects, had no definite boundary-lines 
to distinguish them, and were often mixed and 
confounded one with another. In the second half 
of the seventeenth century the Russian language 
gradually emancipated itself from the Polish fet- 
ters, which had been imposed upon it by writers 
who had been born and educated in Little Russia, 
Lithuania, and Poland ; and it continued to im- 
prove more and more by borrowing some of its ex- 
pressive and full-sounding phrases from the church 
language. 

11) The first grammar in the Russian language was 
the Hellenish-Sclavish, or Greek and Sclavonic 
grammar, which was edited by students educated 
at the school of Lemburg, and published at that 
place in 8vo. A. D. 1591, in Greek and Sclavonic 
letters printed on the opposite pages. The authors 
of this book framed the existing nomenclature of the 
Russian grammar ; their other chief object was to 
facilitate the acquirement of the Greek language. 
In the year 1596 appeared, at Wilna, a Sclavonic 
grammar, etc., written by Lawrentj Sisanj. The 
author availed himself largely of the Greek models ; 
he affected to write in Sclavonic, but in the execu- 
tion of his task he frequently lapsed into the Polish 
dialect. In his chapter upon metre he gives ad- 
vice to follow the example of the Greeks ; at the 
same time he writes himself verses in rhyme. 
In the year 1 Gil) appeared in print at Wilna, a 



42 THE HISTORY OF 

Sclavonic grammar, which had been finished by 
Meletj Smotrizki the preceding year. This was 
arranged in the usual divisions of orthography, ety- 
mology, syntax, and prosody. In the first part the 
author treats very discursively the subject of Sclavo- 
nic orthography, and borrows his whole learning from 
the Greek grammars. Under the head of etymology 
he agrees with Sisani, in laying down eight parts of 
speech. The article, however, as it is called, occu- 
pies not the first, but the fifth place amongst them. 
This etymology, here given by Smotrizki, served 
Lomonossoflfas his model. In the syntax the author 
makes constant references to the Greek languages, 
and uses, as indeed in every part of his work, Greek 
expressions. In the prosody he lays down the rules 
of the Greek metres, and expresses a wish that 
Sclavonic verses might be written on the same plan. 
(See below, annot. 12.) A Russian grammar was 
printed at Oxford, in 8vo. in the year 1696, which 
had for its author a foreigner named William Henry 
Ludolf. He derived his information from this work 
of Smotrizkj, but betrayed his own narrow acquaint- 
ance with the Russian language. About the same 
time the first Sclavonic dictionary (taken from 
Sisani's short Sclavonic dictionary) was written and 
published by Pamwa Beriinda, at Kieff, A. D. 1627, 
in 4to. 

IV. 

Literature : 
a) to the time of the Romanoffs. 
§ 23. At the end of the sixteenth, and beginning 
of the seventeenth centuries, a few learned and 
able writers appeared, but almost all of them be- 
longing to the ecclesiastical profession. The works 
of St. Ambrose, Augustine,. Jerome, Gregory, Sue- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 43 

tonius's History of the Roman Caesars, and other 
works, were at this epoch translated into Russian. 
Some authors busied themselves with historical 
labours ; others with the writing of romances, 
under the modest name of fables. Herr Karamsin 
found two of these fables in manuscript, belonging 
to the sixteenth century ; namely, the Tale of a 
certain Merchant, and the Legend of Drakul. 

b) under the Romanoffs. 

§ 24. In the course of the seventeenth century 
literature received a perceptible impulse. Besides 
many theological writings which made their ap- 
pearance in this era, some historical works and 
books of national poetry, arrayed, however, in a 
foreign dress, were published. Some writers of 
this period exerted themselves, as we have seen 
above, in endeavouring to introduce the Greek 
system of metres, grounded upon the different 
quantities of the long and short vowels ; but the 
verses which were constructed on this plan sounded 
strange and discordant to a Russian ear (12). 
The introduction of the syllabic system, or of 
metres measured by the number of syllables, was 
equally ill adapted to the nature of the Russian 
language, but was more flattering to the sense of 
hearing (13). In the mean time the common 
people of Russia, regardless of the philosophical 
or artistical systems of the learned, composed in 
their own measure Russian songs, which, with 
their agreeable and truly original melodies, have 
descended unaltered to our own day. Some of 
these songs bear the stamp of extreme antiquity ; 



44 THE HISTORY OF 

mention is made in them of the heathen gods, of 
the days of Prince Wladimir, and so forth ; but 
apparently later additions rob us of the interesting 
pleasure of enjoying these memorials, so beautiful 
of their kind, in their original condition. (See 
above, § 9, and § 15.) 

12) The writers who attempted to compose Russian 
verses on the Greek model, were the above-men- 
tioned authors of the two first Sclavonic grammars, 
Sisanj and Smotrizkj. They gave rules such as the 
following : That a vowel before two consonants is 
long ; and so forth. A specimen of verses of this 
description, may be found appended to Gretsch's 
Manual of Russian Literature. 

13) The syllabic method of metres, coming from Po- 
land, was adopted through the medium of Little 
Russia, into the Russian language. The oldest verses 
of this description, are those which we find in the 
preface to the Ostrogian Bible, which was edited by 
Gerassim Danilowitsch in 1581. In the seventeenth 
century, the metropolitan of KiefF, Peter Mogila, 
was zealous in promoting their general adoption. 

Beginning of the Theatre. 

§ 25. In the seventeenth century the first traces 
of dramatic art became visible in Russia. The- 
atrical exhibitions were brought from Poland to 
KiefF. The students of the academy at that place, 
under the favour of the metropolitan, Peter Mogila, 
peformed sacred dramas, or rather, oratorical dia- 
logues, in the Polish language. Afterwards some 
scholars of Little Russia (for instance, Dimitrj Tup- 
talo, Feophan Prokopowitsch, and others) began 
to write similar pieces in the Sclavonic language. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 45 

The scene of these dramas was taken (as it was in 
France and England during the infancy of the dra- 
matic art) from the Bible history, or from the le- 
gends of the saints. The students from Kieff, 
during their holidays, introduced these pieces into 
the Ukraine, and the several Russian towns, and 
accompanied them with farcical acting and buf- 
foonery. In the year 1676, the Boyar Artemon 
Ssergejewitsch Mat wajeff asked the Czar Alexej Mi- 
chailowitsch to allow the German companies who 
were then coming to Moscow, to perform some plays 
at his country-house in the village Preobrashensk. 
In the Ras-rad r books of the same year, the follow- 
ing paragraph alludes to this event. " There were 
comedies at Preobrashensk. The foreigners de- 
lighted the great lord, by showing how Alaferna, 
the princess, cut off the head of the prince (i. e. 
how Judith beheaded Holofernes) ; and the Ger- 
mans played before the nobles of the Boyar Arte- 
mon Ssergejewitch MatwajefF, upon hand-organs. 
In the same year, another comedy was played at 
the same place : how Artaxerxes commanded to 
hang Haman. They played upon hand-organs, 
fiddles, and wind-instruments, and danced. A third 
time they again entertained the great lord at the 
same place, on the last feast-day before the fast ; 
and the Germans, and some of the people of Arte- 
mon Ssergejewitsch performed upon hand-organs, 
violins, wind-instruments, and presented numerous 
other amusements." Among these numerous other 

r Ras-r'ad books— properly a sort of military manuals and army lists, 
which were commenced under the reign of Iwan Wassiljewitsch, and 
again discontinued by Fcodor Alcxcjewitsch the Third. 



46 THE HISTORY OF 

amusements, a ballet was represented ; in the 
course of which, Orpheus sang a panegyrical ode to 
the Czar, and then danced between two moving py- 
ramids. Under the Czar Alexejewitsch, who had a 
singular turn for music and poetry, the first Russo- 
Sclavonic dramas appeared ; which, in the begin- 
ning, were performed in the newly-erected Scla- 
vonic academy for Greek and Latin, and afterwards 
at the court itself. The author of these was a 
monk, called Simeon Polozki. These dramas are 
still preserved in manuscript, in the synodal library: 
two of them, viz. The Prodigal Son, and King Ne- 
buchadnezzar, are to be found printed in the eighth 
volume of the second edition of the Russian Li- 
brary of Antiquities. The first profane comedy 
was also performed under the reign of this prince ; 
being one from Moliere, Le Medicin malgre lui, 
translated into Sclavonic, and privately played at 
the court, by the Princess Sophia Alexejewna and 
a company of noble lords and ladies. 

Writers. 
§ 26. The best known writers of this period, are 
A.) till the Romanoffs mounted the throne. 



1. 


Wassian. 


11. 


Prince Andrej Mi- 


2. 


St. Joseph Sanin. 




CHAILOWITSCH KuRSKJ. 


3. 


Genadj. 


12. 


Prince Konstantin 


4. 


Agathon. 




KONSTANTINOWITSCH 


5. 


Georgj. 




OsTROSHSKJ. 


G. 


Gerassim Danilo- 


13. 


Trifon Korobejni- 




WITSCH. 




KOFF. 


7. 


Macarj. 


14. 


Jurj Grekoff. 


8, 


Lawrentj Sisanj. 


15. 


Franciskus Skorina. 


9. 
0. 


Maksim Grek. 

JOFF (HlOB.) 


16. 


Afanassj Nikitin-. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 



47 



B.) after the accession of the Romanoffs. 



1. Abraham Palizun. 

2. Nikon. 

3. Epifanj Slawinezki. 

4. Peter Mogila. 

5. Inokentj (Innocen- 

TIUS) GlSEL. 

6. LasarBaranowitsch. 

7. Simeon Polozki. 

8. Sylvester Medwad- 

jeff. 

9. Sergj Kubassoff. 
10. Feodor Kassiano- 

witsch Goswinskj. 



11. Prince Semen Scha- 
chofskoj. 

12. Iwan Petlin. 

13. Feodor Issakije- 

witsch Bajkoff. 

14. Feodor Iwan Gri- 
bojedoff. 

15. Andrej LiisLOFF. 

16. Artemon Ssergeje- 

witsch matwajeff. 

17. Princess Sophia Ale- 

XEJEWNA. 



48 THE HISTORY OF 



BOOK II. 

Second Period. From the reign of Peter the Great, 
to our own time. 



CHAPTER I. 

From the beginning of the Second Period, to the acces- 
sion of the Empress Elisabeth. 

I. 

Political condition. 

§ 27. The reign of Peter the Great forms, in 
every respect, one of the most brilliant epochs of 
Russian history ; and all that we might wish to 
say of the greatness of this monarch, and his im- 
mortal efforts to promote the good of his country, 
would be vain and inadequate. We must therefore 
confine ourselves in this place, to merely taking a 
glance at those magnificent designs by which Rus- 
sia was elevated to its present height of power, 
glory, and enlightenment. One chief object of his 
endeavours was to put Russia in communication, 
by means of her marine, with the western countries 
of Europe. After he had exterminated the licen- 
tious multitude of the Strelitzes, he established a 
regular army, built ships of war, and commenced a 
war with the great warrior of the age, Charles the 
Twelfth of Sweden. The first unfavourable results 
did not discourage him. By degrees he habituated 
his new armies and fleets to the practice of war, 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 49 

and made them acquainted with victory, which at 
last crowned him at Pultawa ; and by the peace of 
Nystadt, A. D. 1721, put Russia in possession of 
the greatest part of the eastern coast of the Baltic, 
and the following provinces : Carelia, Ingermann- 
land, Esthonia, and Livonia, besides numerous is- 
lands and advantageous seaports ; among which, 
St. Petersburg, built by him in the midst of the 
hurry of. war, and on a most ungenial spot, already 
occupied by no means the least conspicuous posi- 
tion. In his war with the Turks, Peter was less 
fortunate. He however left Russia on a lofty emi- 
nence among the communities of Europe : Russia, 
which till his time had been regarded as an Asiatic 
country, and with which the princes of more civil- 
ised kingdoms hardly cared to hold any inter- 
course but in regard to the interests of commerce. 
His successors did not obscure the glory of their 
father-land. Anna Iwannowna distinguished her 
reign by a successful war with the Turks. 

II. 

General Enlightenment. 

§ 28. The empty glory of victory and conquest 
was not the object of the great Peter's indefatigable 
zeal, but the aggrandisement of his country, and 
the welfare and enlightenment of his subjects. In 
the course of his reign, which lasted thirty-six years, 
Russia made more progress than in the two pre- 
ceding centuries. A regular land army was organ- 
ised. The sea began to foam beneath the prows 
of Russian fleets already crowned with victory. 

E 



50 THE HISTORY OF 

Ptussia formed alliances with the most polished 
kingdoms of the world ; took an active part in the 
courts of Europe ; and obtained a weighty influence 
in the arrangement of its balance of power. In the 
interior of the empire still more important changes 
took place. The will of the monarch emancipated 
itself from the trammels which had confined it. 
The rights of the people found their supporters in 
well-ordered ecclesiastical, municipal, and military 
laws. The prosecution of all suits within the empire 
was carried on by a new and uniform process. 
The taxes were arranged upon a more equitable 
and beneficial footing. The activity of the people 
was awakened by the establishment and encou- 
ragement of mines, manufactures, and warehouses 
of every kind. The Russians began to carry on 
commerce with foreign states in merchant-vessels 
of their own building, and on their own account, 
and no longer allowed themselves to be regarded 
as a colony for the factories of strangers. The 
Russian costume was exchanged for the ordinary 
European dress. The female sex reasserted its 
rights in society. Men laid aside the custom of 
keeping numerous concubines. The indolence, in- 
activity, and selfishness of the great, gradually 
yielded place to industry, application, and attention 
to personal accomplishments. The Russians now 
visited foreign countries to acquire useful sciences 
and information. Talented, learned, and philan- 
thropic foreigners, on the other hand, brought to 
the growing youth of Russia the advantage of their 
acquirements and their inventions. In the mean 
time every attempt of native talent met with en- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 51 

couragement and reward. The sciences and arts 
descended upon Russia. 

Printing. 

§ 29. One of the first expedients of the great 
monarch for expediting the diffusion of knowledge 
in his native country, was the erection of numerous 
printing-houses. We have spoken above (Annot. 
9,) of the earliest attempts of book-printing in 
Russia. In the year 1698, Peter gave to the Am- 
sterdam printer, Tessing, the privilege of printing- 
books for Russia on subjects connected with the 
sciences or arts, as well as all charts, maps, draw- 
ings, and the like, and the right of supplying Rus- 
sia for fifteen years (14). In the year 1704, the 
Emperor himself invented the new types of the 
common Russian printing alphabet, in which he 
assimilated the shape as much as possible to the 
Latin character, and got rid of all the superfluous 
letters and accents. (On this subject, see below, 
§ 34.) The first improved alphabet was cut and 
cast in Holland. A sheet of the first Russian 
newspaper was printed from it, as a trial, at the 
ecclesiastical printing-house at Moscow, in the 
year 1 705. After this many historical and mathe- 
matical books were printed in the same way at 
that press (15). 

(14) Tessing built for himself a printing-house, and 
with the assistance of the White-Russian student, 
Elias Kopjewitsch, printed a number of Russian 
books ; as, for instance, A Short Introduction to 
Universal History, 1099; The Latin Grammar, 
with a Russian translation ; a Lexicon and ABC- 

K 9. 



52 THE HISTORY OF 

book in the Latin, German, and Russian languages, 
etc. After the death of Tessing and Kopjewitsch, 
A. D. 1701, the printing of Russian books at Am- 
sterdam was continued till the year 1710. During 
this time appeared in print, The Manual of the Art 
of Navigation — a translation, executed by Kopje- 
witsch ; Symbols and Emblems ; and The Picture- 
Book, or the Mirror of Princes, in the Greek and 
German languages— a translation, done by Peter 
BecklemitjefF. In the year 1717 Peter engaged 
John van Duren, a printer at the Hague, to print a 
folio copy of the whole Bible in the Dutch language, 
and directed him to leave a broad white margin, so 
as to leave room for printing the Sclavonic transla- 
tion by the side of it at Petersburg. This edition 
was finished and brought to Petersburg in 1721. 
The Emperor gave orders to have the Sclavonic 
translation printed by the side of the Dutch at the 
printing-press of Alexander Newsky, and distributed 
the copies as presents among his nobles. The New 
Testament, however, was at first published in this 
way by itself; the Old continued till after Peter's 
death in the Dutch language only. 
(15) In the year 171 1 a press was established in Peters- 
burg expressly to print the Ukases of the Emperor, 
and in 1714 it had the distinction of issuing the first 
Petersburg Gazette. After this presses were erected 
also for the senate, for the admiralty, and other 
public offices. By the means of such like helps, 
useful books were rapidly multiplied in Russia. 
The most important of these, at that time, were — 
1. The Art of Ship-Building, by Brinken ; 2. The 
expert Pilot; o. The Works of Cohorn, Vauban, 
Blondel, Pagano, and Borgsdorf; 4. The Life of 
Alexander the Great, by Quintus Curtius ; 5. The 
Works of Arend and Comenius ; 6. Hiibner's Geo- 
graphy; 7. An Introduction to European History, 
by PuffendorfF, translated by the Hieromonach 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 53 

Gabriel Bushinskj, and printed by command of the 
Emperor, with all the author's unfavourable reflec- 
tions upon Russia. 

Schools. 
§ 30. For the instruction of youth in all con- 
ditions of life, suitable schools were instituted. At 
the end of the reign of Peter the Great fifty-one 
national schools had been founded in the govern- 
ment and provincial towns. In these the children 
of parents in all ranks of life (with the exception of 
the nobility and clergy) received instruction in 
reading, writing, arithmetic, and the first principles 
of geometry. The sons of soldiers were instructed 
at fifty-six garrison schools, in reading, writing, 
arithmetic, geometry, instrumental and vocal music, 
and the articles of war. For the education of 
children of ecclesiastics, there were (besides the 
two academies above mentioned at Kieff and Mos- 
cow) twenty-six different places of instruction, of 
which that of .Feophan Prokopowitsch, at St. 
Petersburgh, may be mentioned as the most re- 
markable. The most distinguished scholars, after 
completing their course of education at these semi- 
naries, were sent out to visit foreign universities. 
For the nobility were established the artillery and 
engineer school, and the naval academy in 1702. 
The latter was originally seated at Moscow, under 
the name of the school of navigation, and was sub- 
sequently transplanted to St. Petersburg. It in- 
cluded not less than three hundred and ten sons of 
noblemen and citizens as pupils. 



54 THE HISTORY OF 

Cabinets of Sciences and Arts. 

§ 3L Peter the Great purchased, during his 
second visit to Holland, in the year 1717, the ana- 
tomical cabinet of the celebrated physician Ruysch, 
and a geological collection, with which he laid the 
foundation of the Museum, or, as it is called, the 
Chamber of Arts, at St. Petersburg, which was 
afterwards appended to the Academy of Sciences. 
This cabinet was uninterruptedly enriched with 
every kind of rarity and natural curiosity from all 
parts of the world. The library, collected and 
systematically arranged by the Emperor himself, 
was thrown open to the public. To this was at- 
tached also a collection of coins and medals. The 
Emperor himself often passed several hours con- 
tinuously there in reading. This was also in the 
end incorporated with the Academy. Peter pur- 
chased pictures from foreign countries (especially 
sea-pieces and representations of battles), as well as 
other works of art, with which he adorned the 
walls of his palaces. With a view to attract the 
fine arts to Russia, he despatched young men to 
foreign countries — as SemzofT and Jaropkin to 
Italy to learn architecture ; and Matwajeff, Ssa- 
charoff, Merkurjeff, and Wassilefskj, to Italy and 
Holland, to perfect themselves in the knowledge 
of painting. 

Academy of Sciences, 

§ 32. By the advice of the celebrated Leibnitz, 
the Emperor determined to found an Academy of 
Sciences, the chief end of which should be the in- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 55 

struction of pupils, and the publication of useful 
books, as well as the solving of all questions pro- 
posed to it by government, the making of calendars, 
and the collection of every species of information 
connected in any way with Russian interests. Its 
twelve members, (in the departments of astronomy, 
geography, mathematics, analytics, history and 
antiquities, natural and civil rights, mechanics and 
experimental physics, anatomy, chemistry, litera- 
ture, the belles-lettres, and practical philosophy 
and literary history), were instructed to publish 
each of them a manual on the subject of his par- 
ticular province, and to give public and private 
lectures on the sciences. To each member a 
pupil was appointed, to be instructed in his branch 
of knowledge, and in the process of time to suc- 
ceed to his place. To the Academy of Sciences 
belonged also the department of the arts. Among 
these were included instructions in drafts and 
drawings, painting, engraving, sculpture in stone 
and in steel, and various other useful and elegant 
studies. The imperial court physician, Blument- 
rost, was elected president of the Academy, and 
foreigners distinguished by talent and learning 
were invited to become members; but death did 
did not allow the Emperor himself to see the open- 
ing of this institution. How many other projects 
which would have been immortal, vanished with 
the life of Peter ! Catherine the First opened the 
Academy of Sciences on the 25th of December, 
1725, and annexed to it a Gymnasium, (which, till 
the year 1762, was called a university,) to which 
was entrusted the education of students. The 



ot> THE HISTORY OF 

first members were Nicolas de Lille, de Lisle, de 
la Croyer, Daniel Bernouilli, Bayer, and others, 
The Petersburg Gazette was, from the year 1728 
forward, regularly published at the Academy. 

§ 33. Under the reign of the Empress Anna 
Iwannowna (in the year 1732) the noble land ca- 
det corps (now called the first cadet corps) was in- 
stituted for three hundred and sixty young Russian 
nobles, who destined themselves for the military 
profession. From this establishment, which in later 
times was considerably improved and enlarged, 
many distinguished men were produced. At the 
Academy of Sciences, a learned society formed it- 
self under the presidency of the Raron von KorfT, 
and was opened in 1735, with a discourse by pro- 
fessor Tredjakofskj ; its labours, however, have 
not descended to our times. Such studies as 
require freedom and encouragement made but 
little progress during this reign. The severe ad- 
ministration of Biron, and the preference shewn 
to foreigners over the native Russians, were not 
likely to assist the development of talent among 
the people. Nevertheless, on the shores of the 
Frozen Ocean, far removed from royal patronage, 
and in the cadet schools, young friends of the 
muses nourished in their souls some sparks of the 
holy fire, ready to burst into a flame with the first 
favourable opportunity (16). 

(16) Under the reign of Peter, which is distinguished 
by the first building of a Russian fleet, the earliest 
voyage from Ochotsk to Bolscheriizk was under- 
taken. At the same time (1719) the surveyors Jew- 
rejnoffand Lushin sailed to the sixth Kurile island. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 57 

In the year 1725 captain Vitus Bering, a Dane by 
birth, who had entered the Russian service in 1701, 
was sent out to solve the great geographical problem, 
whether Asia was or was not conjoined with America ; 
and in 1728 (the same year in which the illustrious 
Cook was born) passed the strait, which was after- 
wards called by his name. Under the reign of the 
Empress Anna Iwannowna, he also explored the 
north-western coast of America, and the Aleutes. 
About the same time Spangberg, Walton, and 
Schelting, not only brought home accounts of the 
eastern coast9 of Siberia, but penetrated even as far 
as Japan. The lieutenants MurafjefT, Malghin, 
Sskuratoff, Prontschischtscheff, Lassenius, and the 
brothers LaptjefT, traversed the Frozen Ocean in 
every direction, and reached the promontories of 
Taimur and Schalaz. 

III. 

The National Writing. 
§ 34. The invention and introduction of the na- 
tional writing, constitutes an important epoch in the 
history of Russian literature. Through its instru- 
mentality, apparently, the common popular lan- 
guage, or Russian vernacular, was separated from 
the old church, or proper Sclavonic language. The 
national writing distinguished itself from the church 
writing, in the first place, by its similitude to the 
Latin character; and secondly, by its omission of the 
accent, and of the unnecessary letters Semla, Iske, 
Id,:, Ott, Jest, Ja, Ksi, Psi, Juss, and Ishiza, This 
alphabet, however, still underwent several changes. 
About 1716 the letter Ishe, and in 171S Ishiza, 
were re-admitted; and in 1733 Sdlo was substi- 
tuted for Semla, but Ishiza and Ksi were excluded. 



58 THE HISTORY OF 

The letter E was also restored to its place ; and 
since that time the present Russian alphabet has 
continued unaltered. It is much to be lamented, 
that at the time of its first employment not a man 
was found capable of assisting Peter to ground the 
Russian alphabet on the true principles and genius 
of the language. All the efforts of later writers to 
improve, or even partially to alter it, have been 
hitherto in vain. 

The Language. 

§ 35. The Russian language during this period 
underwent numerous changes, from which it de- 
rived, however, but little advantage. Peter the 
Great, in his introduction of European customs, 
sciences, and arts, into Russia, looked only to 
things, and paid but little attention to words. In 
this way many foreign expressions, particularly mi- 
litary and naval words, crept into the Russian lan- 
guage ; as for instance, all things relating to ship- 
building were called by their Dutch names, and all 
subjects connected with arms derived their nomen- 
clature from the English, which they have retained 
to this day. In the style of learned writers, of 
common conversation, and of mercantile affairs, a 
tremendous confusion ensued : Sclavonic and com- 
mon Russian phrases, corrupted foreign words, (as 
for instance, Fuhrleit,) and many antiquated Rus- 
sian ones, were promiscuously mixed with each 
other. This chaos equally prevailed in books of 
history and rhetorical works, and waited till some 
genius should be born to reduce the Russian style 
to order and uniformity. One party of authors 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 59 

asserted the rights of the Sclavonic language, and 
showed their violence against those who ventured 
to write in Russian. Another was ostentatious of 
the use of foreign idioms, of their familiarity with 
the Latin grammars, and their cleverness in verbal 
minutiae. Only one poet (Kantemir) and some other 
talented writers knew how to avail themselves of a 
suitable language as the medium for their works. 
In the mean time, no one thought of occupying 
himself in digesting and arranging the Russian 



Grammar. 

In the year 1704 was published, in Moscow, a 
Sclavonic-Russian-Latin Lexicon, which Feodor 
PolycarpofF, the improver of the clerical typogra- 
phy at Moscow, had undertaken to compile. In 
1721 a Sclavonic Grammar, derived principally from 
Smotrizki's works, was printed by the same editor. 
In 1725 the Sclavonic grammar of the Hypo-dea- 
con, Feodor MaksimorT, appeared; but all these 
books, which formed a useful introduction to the 
knowledge of the church-language, had scarcely 
any influence on the vernacular tongue. Tredja- 
kofskj, in his work entitled " Dialogues between a 
Foreigner and a Russian upon the old and new or- 
thographies," reasoned acutely on Russian spell- 
ing, and some other parts of grammar ; he exerted 
himself to get rid of some of the letters, (as the 
Semla, Ishe, Schtscha, E, &c.) ; he laboured hard 
to terminate all plural adjectives of the masculine 
gender in iij, of the feminine in iije, and of the 
neuter in iija ; but all his endeavours were in vain. 



60 THE HISTORY OF 

He did not ground his rules on the practice of Rus- 
sian orthography., which had been in use for centu- 
ries, and did not possess the force of real genius, 
which confers life upon all its undertakings ; and 
yet he not unfrequently led his contemporaries and 
successors to a participation of his errors. The 
same may be said also of poetry. The syllabic sys- 
tem of metre was adopted by all the writers of this 
age. Tredjakofskj attempted to prove that it was 
unsuitable to the genius of the Russian language. 
The public wished for examples. He gave them 
his Telemachid and Deidamia : but the public 
justly gave the preference to the thought and feel- 
ing displayed in the syllabic metres, over those built 
on the principle of accentuation, which gave no 
trace of either one or the other. 

IV. 

Literature. 

§ 36. The sciences and arts are easily translated 
from one country into another by the invitation and 
encouragement of learned men: they speak a univer- 
sal language, intelligible by all the nations of the 
earth. But it is otherwise with literature, which is 
the free, unforced production of its native soil. The 
ordinances of kings and of governments may acce- 
lerate its progress or its decline, but to create it is 
beyond their power. It rises spontaneously, or at 
least not till a long time after the throwing in of 
the seed. Peter the Great paved the way for the 
success of Russian literature, but was not per- 
mitted to live till it attained maturity. "The au- 
thors of his time were, as it were, brought over 



RUSSIAN LITERATUE. Gl 

from the preceding era, and their works hore the 
stamp of the 1 7th century. 

The Theatre. 

§ 37. There did not yet exist any regular thea- 
tre in Russia. The stage is a luxury of superior 
civilisation, and Peter looked principally to the 
necessities of his people. The getting up and per- 
formance of sacred dramas was continued at the 
seminaries ; some of them also were made to turn 
upon the remarkable events of the actual time. 
In the year 1730 the Italian, and in 1738 the Ger- 
man theatre, were attached to the court. 



Writers. 


§ 38. The most illustrious 


were, — 




1. St. Dimitrj. 


10. 


2. Stepiian Jaworskj. 




3. Gabriel Busiiinskj. 


11. 


4-. Feophan Prokopo- 




WITSCH. 


12. 


5. Prince Antioch Dmi- 


13. 


TRIJEWITSCII KANTE- 


14 


MIR. 




6. Prince Andrej Ja- 


15. 


KOWLEWITSCH ClIIL- 


1G. 


KOFF. 




7. Il.JA FoDOROWITSCII 


17 


Kopijewitscii, or 




KOPIJEFSKJ. 


18 


8. Peter Busslajeff. 




[) Semen Klimofskj. 





writers of this period 

Kirscha, or Kiril 

Damloff. 
Leontj Piiilippo- 

witsch magntzkj. 
Ernst Gluck. 

IWAN KlRILOFF. 

Wassilj Grigoro- 

WITSCH. 

Nikodim Ssellj. 
Wassilj Nikititscii 
Tatischtsciieff. 
, Stephan Petrowitsch 
Krasciieninnikoff. 
, Wassilj Kirilowitscii 
Tredjakofskj. 



62 THE HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER II. 



The reigns of Elizabeth and Catherine ; or, From Lo- 
monossoff to Karamsin. 

I. 

Political condition of Russia : 

a) under Elizabeth the First. 

§ 39. Elizabeth the First, daughter of Peter the 
Great, had rendered her reign conspicuous by the 
tranquillity of the empire within, and by victories 
over its enemies without. Sweden and Prussia 
were the theatre where the heroism of its armies 
was displayed. Ease and security prevailed in Rus- 
sia. iS Twelve years of the administration of Eliz- 
abeth Petrowna," said the great authoress of the 
celebrated ' Instructions/ " give the world a more 
glorious example for their imitation, than the most 
brilliant conquests." 

b) under Catherine the Second. 

But a worthy successor of Peter the First, and 
the completer of his wise designs, was Catherine the 
Second. She relinquished the hitherto prevailing 
policy of taking -part in the events of Europe only 
in the form of an ally or a subsidiary of one or 
other of the dominant states, and feeling to what 
rank her strength entitled her, began to treat in- 
dependently of other powers ; still however keeping 
her constant attention fixed upon the true interests 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. G3 

and glory of her country. She knew well how to 
choose men who would be capable of advancing 
her splendid projects — the Orloffs, a Rumanzoff, 
a Potemkin, a Dolgoruki, a Kriimskj, the SoltikofFs, 
a Suworoff, a Repnin, a TschitschagofF, a Panin, a 
Besborodko, were the worthy servants of her, and 
of their country. The acquisition of Little Russia, 
the Crimea, the district of Otschakow, of Lithuania, 
Volhynia, Podolia, Courland, etc.; these were the 
results of her subtle councils in the cabinet, and 
her glorious triumphs at Tschesme, Rimnik, and so 
forth. Europe bowed her grey head with respect- 
ful deference before this wise legislatress of her 
people and victorious heroine in war, who had 
raised Russia to the loftiest pinnacle of glory and 
power, and prepared the way for those brilliant re- 
sults which it displayed at the beginning of the 
nineteenth century. 

c) under Paul the First. 

The short reign of Paul the First is rendered 
immortal by the victories of Suworoff in Italy and 
Switzerland. 

II. 

The Progress of Enlightenment under Elizabeth. 

§ 40. The Empress Elizabeth Petrowna loved 
and favoured the sciences and arts ; she derived 
from them in many respects great assistance in the 
administration of the empire, and at the same time 
availed herself of their cultivation to increase the 
splendour of the Russian court, which under the 
Empress Anne had retained the simplicity of Peter's 



G4 THE HISTORY OF 

time, but under Elizabeth became one of the most 
brilliant in Europe, combining all the taste and re- 
finement of the west, with the luxury and magni- 
ficence of oriental climes. The abolition of the 
punishment of death raised the estimation of her 
government in the eyes of the empire. The adorn- 
ing of the imperial palace with architectural ele- 
gance, the perfection of the art of music, (among 
other things by the invention of the horn-bands, 
which still exist only in Russia), and the establish- 
ment of a national theatre, give ample evidence of 
the advances made by intelligence under this reign. 

Learned Institutions. 

The most important regulations of Elizabeth for 
the promotion of science and the enlightenment of 
the people, may be chronologically specified as fol- 
lows : A. D. 1747, the funds of the Petersburg 
Academy of Sciences were materially increased, and 
one class of the department of the fine arts was 
annexed to it. In the year 1752, the navigation 
school, founded by Peter the Great (see § 26 supra) 
received considerable augmentations, and was newly 
named The Noble Marine Cadet Corps. This in- 
stitution Russia has to thank for its most distin- 
guished navigators and naval officers (17). In the 
year 1755, at the suggestion of that illustrious pro- 
tector of science in Russia, SchuwalofF, the Mos- 
cow university was founded, including two subor- 
dinate Gymnasiums — an endowment which in the 
sequel produced incalculable advantages in every 
respect to the country, and has to this day occu- 
pied the first place among the learned establish- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 05 

ments of Russia. In 1758 the foundation was laid 
— likewise by SehuwalofFs advice — of the St. Pe- 
tersburg Academy of the arts of painting, sculpture, 
and architecture. 

(17) Under the reign of the Empress Elizabeth Petrow- 
na, the discoveries of Bering were accurately ascer- 
tained. From 1743 to 1760 Russian navigators made 
voyages to the Aleutes, and carried on traffic with 
the inhabitants. A Moscow merchant, named Sere- 
brennikoff, and a merchant from Selenginski, named 
Tolstiich penetrated to the peninsula of Aljaska, and 
discovered the Fox Islands. 

As Catherine the Second, immediately on the com- 
mencement of her reign received intelligence that 
some Russian hunters had discovered several new 
islands (as Unalashka, Unimak, etc.) she gave instruc- 
tions (in the year 1764) to send out a naval officer to 
make discoveries, and give descriptions of the islands 
situated between Asia and America. This under- 
taking was entrusted to lieutenant Ssind, who served 
in the body of marines which accompanied Bering. 
The result, however, did not answer to the anticipa- 
tions of the Empress. Ssind, although he continued 
sailing about for some years, brought home no im- 
portant information. He marked on his chart is- 
lands utterly unknown, and gave the geographical 
situations of the places he had visited, with inac- 
curacy. In the year 1764, the lieutenant-captain 
NemtinofF was sent out to Spitsbergen to establish 
a settlement of cabins, magazines, and baths, for the 
use of the hunters in that region. In 1765, the 
captain Wassilj Jakowlewitsch Tschitschagoff was 
equipped with three vessels from Kola, to go and 
determine the question, " which is the nearest road 
to India." On his first expedition, Tschitschagoff 
reached the 80° N. L., and on his second (in the 

F 



66 THE HISTORY OF 

year 1766), he attained to the 80° 2V ; but the ice- 
bergs effectually prevented him from prosecuting his 
voyage further, or from approaching the Greenland 
coast. In 1767 captain Krenizim and lieutenant- 
captain Lewascheff received a commission to sail 
from the mouth of the Kamtschatka river, and to 
explore the exact position of the Aleutes, and the 
mainland of America as far as California. Kreni- 
zun, in his voyage to the Frozen Ocean, reached only 
the peninsula of Aljaska, and wintered there. Le- 
wascheff however passed the winter at Unalaschka. 
The extreme cold and the scurvy made such havoc 
among the men attached to both expeditions, that 
they were obliged to return home without accom- 
plishing their object. These failures disposed Ca- 
therine to give up undertakings of this sort for a 
time; and it was not till 1785 that the well-known 
captain Billings was commissioned on a northern 
voyage of discovery. The Empress had intended to 
send out captain Muloffskj to meet him by way of the 
Cape of Good Hope, but the war with Sweden, in 
which Muloffskj was engaged, having broken out 
soon afterwards, the execution of this project was 
abandoned. 

Progress of Enlightenment under Catherine II. 

§ 41. Catherine the Second did not content 
herself with the fame of victories and conquests ; 
she was also the lawgiver and instructress of her 
people. She loved the sciences for the sake of 
science itself, and because she esteemed them as 
the indispensable means of elevating the moral 
nature, and promoting the welfare of mankind. 
" She recognised in her subjects/' says Karamsin, 
" the dignity of human nature, and of that moral 
being, which was created for the happiness of 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 67 

social life. Peter the Great sought to raise us to 
the grade of an enlightened people ; Catherine 
wished to treat us as a people already enlightened." 
Under her government the senate received a new 
and suitable building. Trade and commerce 
flourished through the removal or abatement of 
many difficulties and monopolies, and by conclud- 
ing for Russia advantageous commercial treaties 
with neighbouring powers. In different parts of 
the empire foreign colonists were invited to settle. 
The property of the church received a new and 
advantageous adjustment. By the division of 
Russia into separate jurisdictions, by the appoint- 
ment of special tribunals for each class of affairs, 
by the separation of the judicial office from the ad- 
ministrative and from the police, and by the intro- 
duction of members chosen out of different classes 
into the tribunals— the rights of all conditions of men 
were ascertained and confirmed, and the administra- 
tion of the empire wore an entirely different aspect. 
Many other not less important and useful laws 
were promulgated, and preparations were made 
for a complete new Statute-Book ; but circum- 
stances hindered the development of this grand 
conception, of which only the immortal " Instruc- 
tions," written by the master hand of Catherine, 
have remained as a memorial to posterity. 

Men of letters, and learned Institutions. 
§ 42. Equally zealous was this great Empress in 
promoting the sciences, and the progress of gene- 
ral enlightenment. We can, however, give here 
only a short sketch of the learned men, and learned 

f2 



G8 THE HISTORY OF 

institutions, which were projected or completed 
under her government. 

Tn the year 1762, the noble Artillery School, 
founded by Peter the Great (§ 30), was altered 
and enlarged, and received the name of the Artil- 
lery and Engineer Cadet Corps. Its numbers con- 
sisted of one hundred and forty-six cadets of noble 
families, and one hundred and fifty selected from 
the children of soldiers. In A. D. 1784 the num- 
ber of the cadets was increased to four hundred. 
In the year 1764 the Foundling House in Moscow, 
and in 1770 the one in Petersburg, were founded. 
In the same year was instituted the society for the 
education of two hundred and forty daughters of 
noble houses, and two hundred and forty daughters 
of plebeians, better known by the name of the 
Smolnishian Convent. This establishment, by the 
education which it bestowed on the female sex, 
produced a most beneficial effect on the general 
education of Russia. It was also in the same year 
that the Academy of the Arts was enlarged. Besides 
the three classes of painting, sculpture, and archi- 
tecture, an institution was annexed to it for the 
instruction of one hundred and eighteen pupils in- 
tending to practise as artists. This academy well 
responded to the expectations of its exalted pa- 
troness. Under Catherine's reign the following of 
these pupils earned themselves a lasting reputation : 
1. As painters, Lossensko, died 1773 ; Sokoloff, 
1791. 2. As sculptor, Koslofskj, 1802. 3. As 
architects, Kororin, 1771 ; Baschenoff, 1798; Wol- 
koff, 1803 ; and Staroff. 4. As engravers, Berse- 
koff, 1788; and Skorodimoff, 1792. The Land 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. G9 

Cadet Corps, which Catherine denominated a Nur- 
seryground for Heroes, received under her reign 
marked proofs of her favour. In the year 1766 it 
was remodelled completely, and presented with a 
code of regulations suited to its distinction. Rus- 
sia has been indebted to this institution, and to the 
Engineer Corps, for its most distinguished gene- 
rals and statesmen. During Catherine's govern- 
ment (from 17S8 to 1794) it was under the super- 
intendence of the celebrated Count Anhalt. The 
admiration and acknowledgments of posterity are 
due to the name of Bezkoj, who was the zealous 
assistant of Catherine in the organisation of the 
above-named institutions. 

In the year 1772 the Mining School, or the 
Mining Cadet Corps, was founded, for the instruc- 
tion of officers and commissioners in the principles 
of mining; in 1775 the Gymnasium, for persons 
professing foreign creeds, called also the Greek 
Corps, was erected. 

The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences at- 
tained, under the auspices of Catherine, to a lofty 
pitch of prosperity and fame. Its funds were con- 
siderably increased, and the means supplied to it 
of working for the public good, by the publication 
of useful books and periodical papers, by the open- 
ing of free lectures to the people, and such like 
measures. After a plan suggested by the Empress, 
the following members of the Academy, viz. Pallas, 
Falk, Georgj, Guldenstadt, RiitschkofT, Rumofskj, 
Gmelin, Lepechin, Kraft, Inochodzeff, Oserez- 
kofskj, and Herrmann,) undertook journeys into 
different provinces of the Russian dominions, with 



70 THE HISTORY OF 

the view of giving descriptions of them in all their 
bearings, and taking observations. Among the 
directors of the Academy, DomaschnefF, and the 
Princess Daschkoff merit the gratitude of posterity. 
Among its members were included, not only illus- 
trious foreigners, but native Russians also, who were 
there educated. The Moscow University, enriched 
by Catherine's liberality, began to bear fruits, which 
its first founders had not lived to see. There were 
educated servants truly worthy of their royal mis- 
tress. From thence enlightenment and the love of 
knowledge spread themselves over every part of 
Russia, and penetrated the towns and villages the 
furthest removed from the imperial residence b . 
The Free Russian Society, annexed to the univer- 
sity, contributed much to the increase of know- 
ledge, particularly in Russian literature and his- 
tory (18). Of the influence of this university on 
Russian literature in general, we shall have occa- 
sion to speak further below. At the beginning of 
Catherine's reign the Translation Department was 
instituted, for the purpose of supplying Russia with 
all useful books; but in 1783 it was broken up, 
and its funds transferred to the newly-founded 
Russian Academy c , whose professed object was the 
perfecting and enriching of the Russian language. 
(See below, § 48.) In the year 1765 the Free Eco- 



b The Moscow University owes its fame and the advantages it has 
conferred upon Russia to the union there of several superior intellects — 
as the Russians Popofskj, Barssoff, Desnizkj, TschebotarefF; and the 
foreigners, Reichel, Schaden, Bause, and Matthai, who occupied its pro- 
fessional chairs. 

c Not to be confounded with the Academy of Sciences. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 71 

nomical Society was founded, which in the sequel 
published so many useful books in the province of 
Economy, and advanced the progress of enlighten- 
ment by offering large rewards for the solving of its 
prize-questions. In the year 1783 the Surgical 
Seminary was instituted at St. Petersburg. In 
the same year a Ukase appeared, giving permission 
to any individuals to erect printing presses, and to 
print and issue books from them under a censor- 
ship. Soon after numerous private presses were 
opened at Petersburg and Moscow, and by their 
means the publication of books was greatly faci- 
litated. In this year also a commission for the 
erection of National Schools in different parts of 
the empire was appointed. This commission 
founded a Seminary for Schoolmasters ; it opened 
in Petersburg one upper and twelve private Na- 
tional Schools, and published instruction books, 
and other instruments of improvement in the Rus- 
sian language, adapted for the use of all classes. 
By degrees National Schools were set in motion in 
every government and provincial town of Russia. 
Among these schools none took a more prominent 
position than the High School for the German 
subjects of the empire, which had been founded 
by the celebrated Biisching, in 1762, at St. Peters- 
burg, and attached to the Evangelical Church of 
St. Peter. The noble Herr Saritsch devoted a 
considerable part of his fortune to the formation of 
a Cadet Corps at Schklow, which was afterwards 
transferred to Smolensk, and is now situated at 
Kostroma. 

(18) The Free Russian Society was founded at the 



72 THE HISTORY OF 

University principally through the exertions of its 
curator, J. J. Melissino, and opened August 2nd, 
1771. The object of this society was the improve- 
ment and enrichment of the Russian language by the 
publication of useful works, and translations in prose 
and poetry, as well as productions in Russian his- 
tory. The ordinary members were the professors 
of the University, and other learned and literary 
men — Professor Barssoff was elected secretary. 
This society busied itself in the construction of a 
Russian dictionary, and from 1774 to 1783 it pub- 
lished six divisions of a Specimen of its Labours, in 
which the historical articles contributed by Miiller 
and Peter Alexijiff are most distinguished. The 
operations of this society were continued about four- 
teen years, 

Under Paul I. 
§ 43. The reign of the Emperor Paul I. distin- 
guished itself, as far as the education of the peo_- 
ple is concerned, by the founding of the Univer- 
sity of Dorpat, of the School of Agriculture, of 
the Soldiers' Orphan Corps, of the School of the 
Order of St. Catherine, and by the carrying on of 
the educational houses, and all other institutions 
provided for the female sex by the benevolent ex- 
ample of the Empress Maria Feodorowna. From 
this time forward a new and remarkable epoch 
commenced in the history of these sort of estab- 
lishments. 

III. 

Formation of the Language and Style of Lomonossoff. 

§ 44. The beginning of this division of the his- 
tory of Russian literature is rendered remarkable 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 73 

by the re-formation, or more properly speaking, 
the creation of the Russian language. For this 
mighty result we can only thank the genius of a 
Lomonossoff. (See below, § 49.) He first learnt 
the way to separate the Russian vernacular lan- 
guage, which is, nevertheless, the fullest and no- 
blest, from the church language ; without, how- 
ever, losing the intrinsic beauties of the latter. 
He first wrote a pure Russian prose, introduced 
the use of the proper metre of lyrical verse, and 
fixed and defined the rules of Russian grammar. 
This revolution in the Russian language could only 
be accomplished by a man, who, nourished in his 
youth by solitary study and reflection, had after- 
wards stored his mind and improved his talents by 
the acquirement of the most finished scholarship. 
Good, however, is slow in ripening. Tredja- 
kofskj's style was still upheld for a long time in 
Russian literature. The ecclesiastical writers of 
Russia continued for a long time to follow a Feo- 
phan and a Gabriel, rather than this new, but really 
exemplary, author. Ignorance, jealousy, and ma- 
lice, pursued Lomonossoff to the grave, where in- 
deed great men must ever expect to reap the first 
rewards of their labours in this life. The further 
we proceed in our history from this period, the 
more we begin to prize and to esteem it. 

The Lyric and Dramatic Metres. 

Ever since 1739 (the year when Lomonossoff 
published his first ode at St. Petersburg, upon the 
capture of Chotin) the present lyrical metre has 
existed in Russian poetry. At the same time Su- 



74 THE HISTORY OF 

marokoff, who had been brought up in the Cadet 
Corps, wrote some dramatic attempts in Alexan- 
drine verse. In this way was established that 
metre, which was in almost exclusive use among 
the Russians till the nineteenth century. Lomo- 
nossoff had a fancy for hexametres, and it is pro- 
bable that he would have adopted the use of them 
in time, if death had not intervened to shorten his 
days. He only wrote in iambics and choraics, and 
these feet consequently continued to constitute the 
prevailing Russian metre. Rules do not so easily 
form the taste of a people as the example of great 
and distinguished writers. 

Rhetorical Style. 

Among the prose compositions of this era two 
splendid and inimitable panegyrics by LomonossofF 
deserve the first attention. An easy, light style, 
such as is used in conversation and epistolary cor- 
respondence, did not then exist among the Rus- 
sians ; the comedies, dialogues, and letters of that 
time, were written in heavy, harsh, and vulgar 
language. LomonossofF took the younger Pliny 
and Cicero as his models ; the words, he borrowed 
from the common vernacular, as well as from the 
church language ; and by the force of his genius 
he knew how to distinguish and estimate them 
separately. An agreeable style, however, requires 
expressions and phrases such as are in daily use 
in elegant society, and at that period it was not 
customary to speak Russian in company. Under 
the Empress Anna, and in the time of the re- 
gency, the German language prevailed; under 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 75 

Elizabeth, the Italian, and after that the French 
came into fashion ; and the latter has since re- 
tained the precedence. The Russians let their 
own solid gold remain un wrought into shape, and 
adopted the ready beaten tinsel of foreigners for 
present use. 

Grammar. 

The grammar of Lomonossoff constitutes an 
epoch in itself. In it are set forth and explained 
the rules of the pure Russian language, which bor- 
rows indeed its chief materials from the Sclavonic, 
although it does not follow it throughout. It is, 
however, to be regretted that Lomonossoff adhered 
so closely to the Latin grammar. He makes five 
declensions, and distributes the conjugations ac- 
cording to the first persons of the present tenses ; 
he adopts a prseter-imperfect tense, which does not 
belong to the Russian language, and omits at the 
same time several actually existing forms. Besides 
this, he gives many false rules, (as for instance, 
with regard to the terminations of adjectives in the 
plural number,) apparently out of mere caprice. 
In spite of this, however, his grammar retains to 
this day the first place. It has also been objected 
to him that he adopted, without rule or system, 
the customary terminology of his time, which was 
then gradually forming itself; this is in part cor- 
rect ; but in this only the genius of Lomonossoff is 
to blame, the bold course of which no one in after 
times has been able to transcend. 

In the year 1763, A. L. Schlozer (see below) oc- 
cupied himself in the preparation of a Russian 



76 THE HISTORY OF 

grammar, which, alas ! he only continued as far as 
the declension of adjectives. In the nine sheets of 
it, of which only a few copies were printed, and 
preserved by some true friends of literature, some 
excellent rules are to be found, many of which 
have been adopted by the authors of the most re- 
cent grammars. 

The Language under the Empress Catherine. 
The Language of Prose. 
§ 45. The language of LomonossofT continued 
to prevail during the whole period of Elizabeth's 
reign, during which time but little and very gradual 
alteration took place. Between 1770 and 1780 the 
translations of Jelagin began to appear : they dis- 
played a pure Russian language, but still greatly 
mixed up with Sclavonic words. The construction 
was difficult ; many expressions were false or mis- 
applied. The public, however, read these transla- 
tions with avidity, although they felt that they had 
not yet attained to the possession of a perfect prose. 
A special attention to the subject supplied at this time 
the formation of a fine diplomatic style. The ma- 
nifestoes and some of the ukases of Catherine II. 
may be called superb. The principal persons who 
took part in their composition were TeplofF, Bes- 
borodko (19), Sawadofskj (20), and Krapowizkj. 

The Language of Poetry. 
The language of lyrical poetry received new life 
from the pen of Dershawin. Vigorous ideas ne- 
cessarily sought for new expressions. The poet 
created them in merely following the suggestions 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 77 

of his own genius, and these expressions remained 
as an inheritance to the Russian tongue. In 
the mean time the style of other sorts of poetry 
was gradually forming itself. In the style of 
Knashnin's tragedies, we find much more regu- 
larity, roundness, and aptitude, than in those of Su- 
marokoff. The language of The Mother's Spoilt 
Son, and of The Brigadier, is good; not so 
much by the art it exhibits, as in the accurate re- 
presentation it conveys of the manners of that 
time. The style of Psyche (Duschinka) is a re- 
markable phenomenon of the age in which it was 
written. Bogdanowitsch was long without a rival, 
as far as simplicity and lightness are concerned. 
Chemnizer, inimitable in his simplicity, was un- 
known to many of his contemporaries. He did not 
belong to their age. 

Grammar and Lexicography. 

The Russian grammar formed itself in time, 
rather by daily experiment and practice, than by 
the authority of any great writer. The Russian 
Academy performed a truly great work, in the pro- 
duction of the Etymological Dictionary of the 
Russian language (21). 

(19) Prince Alexander Andrejewitsch Besborodko, 
chancellor of the empire, superior director of the 
posts, and knight of numerous Russian and foreign 
orders (born 174G, and died April 6th, 1799,) served 
in the beginning under Count RumanzofF-Sadu- 
naiskj. In the year 1775 Catherine the Second ap- 
pointed him secretary of state, and he afterwards 
received, for his important and profitable services to 



78 THE HISTORY OF 

his country, both from that Empress, and from her 
successor, Paul I., manifold proofs of favour. Bes- 
borodko took part in the conclusion of the following 
. treaties — with Denmark, 1782 ; with France, Naples, 
and Portugal, 1787 ; with the Port at Jassy, 1791 ; 
with Austria, 1792; with the Order of Malta, and 
with Prussia and England, 1797. 

(20) Count Peter Wassiljewitsch Sawadofski, acting 
privy-councillor, began service under the hero 
Sadunaiskj, and in the year 1775 attained the rank 
of secretary of state. He was also practised in lite- 
rary and learned subjects, and took a prominent 
part in the establishment of National Schools. Under 
the reign of Alexander I. he created an everlasting 
testimony to his fame by his organisation of the 
Educational Bureau. He died January 10th, 1812. 
Many manifestoes, in a masterly style of composi- 
tion, and other public documents, were drawn up by 
him under the reigns of Catherine and Paul. 

(21) At the end of Catherine's reign the fruits of the 
foundation of the Moscow University became visible. 
We will speak of them more at length in discussing 
the ensuing period. DmitrijefF, Karamsin, Muraw- 
jeff, lived and wrote under Catherine's government ; 
but as Lomonossoff, (who died in 1765,) belongs, by 
the nature of his genius and writings, to the age of 
Elizabeth, so these authors belong rather to the fol- 
lowing period. It is often difficult to connect poli- 
tical and literary periods with uniformity. The first 
are clearly defined by the occurrence of brilliant 
events ; the latter glide gradually one into another, 
without any definite lines of demarcation. 

Literature under Elizabeth. 
§ 46. Russian literature, properly so speaking, 
commenced with the accession of Elizabeth. Till 
her time we saw nothing but sketches, attempts, 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 79 

and essays. Lomonossoff's poems awakened in 
Russia a love for elegant literature, first at court, 
afterwards among the inhabitants of the chief 
towns, and lastly in the provinces. About this 
time appeared SumarokofF. He had neither the 
genius nor the talents of a LomonossofF; but the 
kinds of poetry which he attempted were more 
diversified, the ideas of his contemporary readers 
were more matured, and hence he has been called 
to the present time the rival of LomonossofF. 
Tredjakofskj displayed in his labours industry and 
originality. Young authors formed themselves 
under him ; old ones took him under their protec- 
tion ; and thus was established among the Russians 
a literary republic, in which there was no want of 
names to people it. It comprised a phalanx of 
imitators, translators, critics, etc. 

Journalism. 

About this time the academician Miiller com- 
menced the first literary journal in Russia, entitled 
Monthly Essays, Useful and Entertaining. This 
was continued to the year 1765, and contained 
many original and translated articles on historical, 
geographical, and commercial subjects, which at 
the time were interesting and new. Almost all 
the Russian poets contributed articles to this jour- 
nal. The Russian public read with avidity this 
periodical, which gave example and occasion for 
the publication of other literary journals. In the 
year 1759 appeared the Industrious Bee of Suma- 
rokoff, and 1756 the Moscow newspaper. In 1762 



80 THE HISTORY OF 

Cherafskoff published at Moscow the Hours of 
Leisure. 

The Russian Theatre. 

§ 47. The Russian Theatre dates its origin from 
the time of Elizabeth I. At her accession there 
were already German and Italian performances at 
St. Petersburgh. In the year 1748 the cadets of 
the Land Corps, who were well schooled in the 
practice of declamation, ventured to introduce a 
Russian piece to the notice of the Empress, and 
they were so fortunate as to succeed. From that 
time SumarokofF began to meditate on the exten- 
sion of the dramatic art in Russia, and employed 
himself in the composition of plays. In the mean 
time a National Theatre had been established in a 
Russian province without any foreign assistance. 

Wolkoff. 

The son of a merchant at Kostroma, named 
Feodor Wolkoff, who had received instructions at 
Moscow in the German language, in music, and in 
painting, erected at Jarosslawl, together with some 
other young men, a small theatre in his apartment, 
and began to play the dramas of St. Dimitrj. In 
the year 1746 he came to Petersburg, saw there 
the representations of the Italian theatre, took 
pains to acquire accurate information respejting 
its interior arrangements and decorations, and as 
soon as he returned to Jarosslawl erected, with the 
assistance of some friends of the arts, a theatre 
capable of accommodating a thousand spectators. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE, 81 

He himself was architect, machinist, painter, ma- 
nager, and first actor there. Dmitrefskj, Popoff, 
and some other young people, associated them- 
selves with the company. A rumour of the erec- 
tion and success of this theatre reached the court, 
where Sumarokoff's tragedies were at that time 
being performed by the young nobles. In 1752 
Wolkoff and his companions received a summons 
to court. Here they played, to the great gratifi- 
cation of the Empress, the piece called The 
Sinner (Greschnik), and some of Sumarokoffs 
tragedies. The young actors were, in the mean 
time, placed in the Cadet Corps, to improve them- 
selves in the fine arts and elegant studies ; and at 
last, on the 30th of August, 1756, appeared a 
ukase directing the erection of a public Russian 
theatre, to which Sumakaroff was nominated as 
director, and Wolkoff as chief actor. Actresses 
were also now permitted to appear. Hitherto the 
womens' parts had been performed by men. Under 
the highest patronage Wolkoff also erected in the 
year 1759 a Russian theatre in Moscow, at which 
place he died, in 1763, in the flower of his age, as 
he was engaged in preparatory arrangements for a 
grand festival to celebrate the accession of Cathe- 
rine. His exertions, however, did not die with 
him. Encouraged by his example, Dmitrefskj, and 
other friends of the Muses, carried on, and at last 
perfected, the dramatic art in Russia. 

Literature under Catherine. 
§ 48. Catherine the Second gave new life, partly 
by the encouragement she bestowed, partly by her 



82 THE HISTORY OF 

own example, to Russian literature. The bards of 
Elizabeth were still alive ; Lomonossoff could still 
pour out to her his tributes of admiration and 
praise ; Sumarokoff rejoiced in her especial favour. 
New poets too crowded into the phalanx- — PetrofT 
sung the heroic exploits of the first Turkish war ; 
Cheraskoff appeared with an epic poem ; Bogda- 
nowitsch with one in the romantic style ; Van 
Wisin created the Russian comedy ; tragedy rose 
from beneath the pen of Knashnin ; Dershawin 
shone. All these authors were warmed by the 
rays of the auspicious and genial star ; but they 
no longer wrote only for the court, as under Eliza- 
beth, for the court now distinguished itself by 
identifying the glory of the people with its own. 
A reasonable freedom was permitted to the press, 
and free printing-houses, as mentioned above, were 
established everywhere. 

Journalism. 

Literary journals now multiplied themselves on 
every side. The St. Petersburg Messenger spread 
useful information over the whole of Russia. In 
the Companion for the Friends of the Russian 
Language, appeared poems by Dershawin, and 
treatises in prose by Van Wisin ; clever, witty es- 
says, which the Empress herself condescended to 
answer. The Russian Academy consisted of all 
the most distinguished literati of the time. In the 
mean time the operation of the University at Mos- 
cow made rapid advances ; NowikofF gave life and 
animation to Russian literature, (see below). At 
this period the number of Russian authors becomes 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 83 

so extended, that we can no longer enumerate 
them in detail, but are compelled to content our- 
selves with giving the general characteristics of the 
whole. In the last years of Catherine's life, and 
under the reign of Paul, the unhappy results of the 
French revolution had the effect of narrowing the 
career of general literature in Russia. 

Pulpit Eloquence. 

The science of preaching was at this time in its 
highest state of perfection. The labours and me- 
rits of a Platon, a Georgj, an Anastassj, and a Le- 
wanda, will be afterwards considered. 

History. 

Russian history has to thank Catherine for its 
existence. Down to her time the Russian chroni- 
cles (Latopisse) were regarded as private annals of 
the empire. No one had dared either to print 
them, or comment upon them. Only the Synopsis 
of Gisel (see § 26) had served till the middle of the 
eighteenth century as a manual of instruction on 
these subjects. Under Elizabeth's reign Midler 
began to divide and distribute the fountains of Rus- 
sian history ; LomonossofY wrote a short Russian 
chronicle, and began to put together a complete his- 
tory. Catherine, from the first time of her arriving 
in Russia, evinced the greatest interest in the pro- 
gress of this history ; and soon after her accession 
to the throne, she occupied herself some hours 
every day in the business of digesting its materials. 
Under her auspices, many chronicles and other 
useful helps to the formation of a Russian history 

c 2 



84 THE HISTORY OF 

(as for instance, The Step-Books, Tatischtscheff's 
Works, The Byzantine Memorabilia, and so forth,) 
were edited by Muller, Schlozer, BashilofF, and 
Stritter. Prince SchtscherbatofF was anxious to 
write a complete history of his native land, and had 
even collected nearly half the necessary materials. 
Boltin, encouraged by the Empress herself, wrote 
his remarks upon Le Clerc and SchtscherbatofF. 
NowikofF edited and published the Old Russian Li- 
brary. GolikofF consigned to the press The Acts 
of Peter the Great. The Empress herself published 
Events worthy to be Remembered in Russian His- 
tory. In this way the materials, and the opening 
for a general Russian history were extended and 
enlarged ; but it was reserved for the century of 
Alexander to see it ushered into the world. 

The Theatre. 

The theatre, which under the preceding reign 
had been an exclusive amusement for the court 
and higher ranks (who enjoyed their free admis- 
sion, and seats according to their class of nobility), 
became under the government of Catherine open 
to the public. Any one, by the payment of a mode- 
rate price of admission, was entitled to participate in 
this noble recreation, which helped greatly to pro- 
mote the cultivation of manners, and a general love 
of poetry and art. The tragedies of Knashnin, the 
comedies of Van Wisin, and the excellent repre- 
sentations derived from the Russian history, in the 
preparation of which the Empress herself took part, 
led the public on, and infused into them a taste for 
the beautiful. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 



85 



Writers. 



§ 49. The most important writers of this period 



are, 



1. 


LOMONOSSOFF. 


17. 


Kapoist. 


2. 


SlJMAROKOFF. 


18. 


KOSTROFF. 


3. 


Krinofskj. 


19. 


Knasiinin. 


4. 


Satschenoff. 


20. 


Neledinskj-Melezkj 


5. 


POPOFSKJ. 


21. 


BOBROFF. 


6. 


KONISSKJ. 


22. 


DOLGORUKJ. 


7. 


Lefschin. 


23. 


Chwostoff. 


8. 


Bratanofskj. 


24. 


MlJLLER. 


9. 


Lewanda. 


25. 


SCHTSCHERBATOFF, 


10. 


Cheraskoff. 


26. 


BOLTIN. 


11. 


Petroff. 


27. 


GOLIKOFF. 


12. 


Barkoff. 


28. 


Jelagin. 


13. 


BOGDANOWITSCH. 


29. 


Pleschtschejeff. 


14. 


Chemnizer. 


30. 


SCHLOZER. 


15. 


Van Wisin. 


31. 


NOWJKOFF. 


16. 


Dershawin. 







86 THE HISTORY OF 



CHAPTER III. 



The Century of Alexander ; or, from Karamsin to our 
own time. 



Political condition of Russia. 

§50. The beginning of a new and a brilliant 
epoch in Russian history, is marked out by the ac- 
cession of Alexander the First. He concluded peace 
with the powers who were then at war with Rus- 
sia, and to ensure its endurance made treaties not 
only in Europe, but with nations scattered over 
the whole earth. This peace, however, was not 
destined to be of long duration, since the thirst of 
conquest and glory which distinguished the then 
government of France, soon gave occasion for the 
outbreaking of a still more formidable war. Rus- 
sia armed herself for the defence of the oppressed ; 
but the time for the rescue of Europe from the 
yoke was not yet come. The peace of Presburg 
concluded the war of 1805, and the treaty of Tilsit 
that of 1806-1807; but these compacts may rather 
deserve the name of truces than of peace. In the 
mean time, Russia acquired the districts of Bialystok 
and Tarnopol ; afterwards, at the treaty of Frede- 
ricksheim (1809), the grand principality of Finland, 
and by that of Bucharest (1812), Bessarabia and 
part of Moldavia. Suddenly the storm, which had 
been hanging over Russia, burst. On the 12th of 
July, 1812, Napoleon crossed the Russian frontier; 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 87 

on the 2nd of September he advanced to Moscow ; 
and on the 1st of January, 1813, there was not a 
man left of the invading army, with the exception 
of the prisoners, on the soil of Russia. The year 
1813 was distinguished by the liberation of Ger- 
many ; that of 1814 by the taking of Paris, and the 
disenthronement of Napoleon. In 1815 this enemy 
of the people's peace renewed his attempts, but was 
again beaten, and exiled to a place of security. By 
the conclusion of the peace of Paris, and soon after 
by the confederation of the Holy Alliance, perma- 
nence was assured to political arrangements — their 
honours were secured to princes, and their rights 
to the people — and Russia earned the imperishable 
fame of a peacemaker, and protectress of both 
kings and people. 

II. 

General Enlightenment. 

§ 51. The reign of Alexander, distinguished 
abroad by the most glorious triumphs over the ene- 
mies of the peace of Europe, and by the liberation 
of our quarter of the globe from an oppressive 
yoke, left also lasting memorials of legislation and 
enlightenment at home. Immediately after his 
accession, this monarch established and defined 
the rights of the senate, the nobility, and the mu- 
nicipal communities. He put a final stop to the 
operations of the secret tribunal, and to the torture. 
In the year 1802 he organised anew the different 
bureaus of administration ; and in 1803 appointed 
the law-commission. In 1807 he ascertained and 
extended the rights of the commercial classes; and 



88 THE HISTORY OF 

in 1810 gave a new form of arrangement to the 
council of state. The public revenues considerably 
and rapidly increased. The directory for the con- 
struction of roads was placed on a better foundation. 
A new society was formed for the free agriculturists 
of the empire. Commerce and trade received a 
great impulse by the cessation of the continental 
system. Domestic activity was developed, and fa- 
brics and manufactures found new channels for the 
products of industry. In the years 1803-1806 the 
Russians for the first time sailed round the world ; 
which they have since frequently repeated (22). 
With the most assiduous zeal for the true enlighten- 
ment of his people, Alexander completed what 
Peter and Catherine had begun. We will mention 
the most remarkable of the institutions and altera- 
tions in this respect which took place under his 
reign. 

In the year 1802 a new Educational Bureau was 
established in Russia, and the chief superintendence 
of all places of learning in Russia, with the excep- 
tion of the clerical schools, the military school, the 
mining school, and the seminaries which were 
established under the especial direction of Maria 
Feodorowna, was entrusted to it. This Bureau 
adopted, immediately on its erection, a general 
system of education throughout Russia, which was 
crowned with the highest success. By the funda- 
mental laws of this system, Russia was divided into 
the following six departments — 1. That of Moscow, 
to which belong the governments of Moscow, Twer, 
Kaluga, Wologda, Kostroma, Jarosslaw, Wladimir, 
Tula, and Smolensk. 2. That of St. Petersburg, 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 89 

with the governments of St. Petersburg, Olonez, 
Archangel, Novogorod, and Pskovv. 3. That of 
Charkow, with the governments of Slobodsko- 
Ukraine, Tschernigow, Poltawa, Kieff, Kursk, 
Orel, Woronesh, Cherson, Taurien, and the lands 
of the people of the Don. 4. That of Dorpat, 
with the governments of Courland, Esthonia, and 
Livonia. 5. That of Kasan, with the governments 
of Kasan, Pensa, Simbirsk, Nishegorod, Astracan, 
Perm, Wjatka, Tobolsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk, Tam- 
bow, Saratow, and the Caucasus. 6. That of 
Wilna, with the governments of Wilna, Grodno, 
Minsk, Mogilew, Witepsk, Volhynia, Podolia, and 
Bialystok. For each of these educational depart- 
ments a university was appointed ; to every go- 
vernment town a gymnasium was assigned ; to 
every district town a distinct school, and to every 
hamlet a parish-school. The supervision of each 
district was confided to a curator, and the general 
superintendence of all these together was given to 
the directory of the head-school. This beneficial 
plan was immediately put in execution. The 
already existing universities of Moscow, Dorpat, 
and Wilna, (founded in 1578,) were included in 
the general arrangement, and received new sta- 
tutes, and letters patent of the Emperor. Two 
new universities were founded, viz. Charkow, the 
charter of which is dated Nov. 4th, 1801, and for 
which the Slobod-Ukrainian nobility subscribed 
a sum of 400,000 rubles— opened Jan. 17th, 1805 ; 
and Kasan, opened the 5th of July, 1814. The 
University of St. Petersburg, (of which the prin- 
cipal constituent parts, the schoolmasters' school, 



90 THE HISTORY OF 

the government school, and the town school, 
had already existed since 1803,) was opened on the 
8th of February, 1819. The number of the Rus- 
sian universities was increased in the year 1809, 
upon the acquisition of Finland, by the university 
of Abo, founded A. D. 1640. 

Each university, as soon as completed, occupied 
itself with the formation and improvement of its 
subordinate schools. Besides the schools esta- 
blished on this general plan, many other special 
schools were instituted in the different depart- 
ments, viz., Zarsko-jeselo Lyceum, 1811, with the 
seminary for young nobles attached to it ; the 
seminary for noblemen at the university of Mos- 
cow (23) and of St. Petersburg, 1817 ; the instiut- 
tion for schoolmasters at the university of Peters- 
burg, 1819 ; the Richelieu Lyceum at Odessa, 
1817. The gymnasiums of Kasan, Mitau, Kreme- 
nez, (now the Volhynian Gymnasium,) KiefF, and 
St. Petersburg, possessed especial rights and pri- 
vileges of their own. 

In the year 1813 the Russian Bible Society was 
first founded at St. Petersburg, which had for its 
object the diffusion of God's Word in "all the lan- 
guages, and over all the countries of the world (24). 
Russia, mindful that she herself was indebted to 
the Holy Gospel for the beneficial enjoyment of 
the sciences, of arts, and of literature, now in re- 
turn scattered over all the nations which lay in 
darkness, its healing light, and laid by this means 
the surest foundation for their future complete 
enlightenment. In the year 1816 the Educational 
Bureau was united to the Bureau for Ecclesiastical 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 91 

matters, and since that time a new period com- 
menced in these points, of which we daily see the 
beneficial results. 

The great and wholesome ordinances of the 
government could not fail to kindle the imitative 
zeal of private societies and individuals in Russia. 
The state-councillor Demidoff enriched the Uni- 
versity of Moscow, and founded from its funds the 
Jarosslawish Gymnasium, 1805 ; Count Besbo- 
rodko founded a Gymnasium for the superior sci- 
ences at Neshin, 1805. In almost all the govern- 
mental and district-towns the noblemen and the so- 
cieties of merchants contributed large sums for the 
building of schools. The most remarkable of these 
places of learning were — The Alexander School at 
Tula, 1802, and the Noble School at Tambow, 
1803. Those who could not give money contri- 
buted their personal exertions. Many noblemen 
doubled the value of their beneficence, by them- 
selves partaking in the office of instruction. Other 
friends of utility founded learned and literary 
societies. Thus were established, in 1802, the 
Society for Literature and Praxis, at Riga ; in 
1803, for the Lovers of Literature, Sciences, and 
Arts, at St. Petersburg (25) ; 1804, for Russian 
History and Antiquities, at the University of Mos- 
cow (26) ; 1805, for Natural Philosophy, at Mos- 
cow (27) ; for Medicine, at Wilna; for the ad- 
vancement of the Medical and Physical Sciences, 
at Moscow (28); 1808, for the lovers of Native 
Literature, at Kasan (29) ; 1S10, for the lovers of 
the Russian language (30) ; for the lovers of Russian 



92 THE HISTORY OF 

Literature, at the University of Moscow (31) ; and 
a similar one at the Demidoff Institution for Learn- 
ing at Jarosslaw ; for the Sciences, at the Univer- 
sity of Charkow (32) ; 1816, the Free Society for 
the lovers of Russian Literature, at Petersburg (33) ; 
1818, the Society for Mineralogy (34), and for 
Pharmacy, at the same place (35) ; and 1819, the 
Society for the Erection of Schools upon the Plan 
of Mutual Instruction (36). 

Besides the schools and other institutions con- 
nected with the Educational Bureau, the following 
also were established or remodelled under the reign 
of Alexander — 1802, the Corps of Pages was reorga- 
nised; 1805, the High School of Jurisprudence at St. 
Petersburg was opened ; 1807, the Clerical Schools 
received a new, universal, and systematic arrange- 
ment, through the appointment of a special com- 
mission at St. Petersburg. They were divided into 
academies, (at St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kieff, and 
Kasan,) seminaries, district and parish schools (37)- 
In 1808, the Medico-Surgical Academy was opened 
at St. Petersburg, and a branch of the same at 
Moscow; also, in 1809, the Institute for the Edu= 
cation of the Roads-Communication Corps. In 
Odessa a Commercial School was opened in 1 804 - r 
and at St. Petersburg the Engineer School, in 
1817 ; and the Artillery School, in 1821. 

Besides this, the spread of information in Rus- 
sia was extended by the publication, in 1804, of 
the Ordinances of the Censorship ; the opening of 
the Imperial Public Library at St. Petersburg, in 
1811 ; the reorganisation of the Russian Academy, 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 93 

1816 ; and the erection of professorial chairs for 
the teaching of the oriental languages, at the 
University of St. Petersburg, 1818. 

(22) The first voyage of the Russians round the world 
was achieved in the years 1802-1806, by the ships 
Hope and Neva, belonging to the Russian-American 
Company, and under the command of captain Kru- 
senstern. After this the American Company de- 
spatched ships almost every year to the north-west 
coast of America. Among other scientific expedi- 
tions, the best known are that of captain Golownin, 
in the Diana sloop, in the years 1807-1814, for the 
closer examination of the Kurile islands; that of 
lieutenant von Kotzebue, of the sloop Rurik, at the 
expense of count N. P. RumanzofF, in the years 
1815-1818, for the discovery of a north (western?) 
passage between Asia and America; of lieutenant 
LasarefF, in the year 1819, in the brig Nova Zembla, 
for exploring the island of Nova Zembla; of the 
captains Bellinghausen, in the sloops l'Orient and 
Friedliche ; and Wassiljeffj in the sloops Discovery 
and Confidence, 1819, for making discoveries in the 
north and south polar regions. 

(23) The Seminary for Noblemen at the University of 
Moscow was founded in the year 1770, principally 
by the exertions of Messrs. CheraskofFand Melissino. 
Russia has to thank this institution for the formation 
of her best men, in the civil, military, and literary 
capacities. In 1817 its rights and privileges were 
ascertained and confirmed. It has since been for a 
long period of years under the superintendence of 
the rector of the university, the privy-councillor, 
A. A. Prokopowitsch-Antonskj. 

(24) The Russian Bible Society, in respect of the ex- 
tent of its operations, is only secondary to the Bri- 
tish. In the year 1820 it possessed 53 affiliated, and 



94 THE HISTORY OF 

145 assistant societies ; and since 1813, the time of its 
foundation, more than 430,000 Bibles and New Tes- 
taments had been printed and distributed in twenty- 
six languages. 

(25) This society, under the presidency of A. E. Is- 
mailoff, printed in 1802 and 1803 the labours of its 
members, under the title of The Scroll of the 
Muses, in 2 vols.; and in 1812 it published the 
St. Petersburg Messenger, which was interrupted 
by the circumstances of the time. Its sittings, how- 
ever, were continued. 

(26) Under the presidency of P. P. Beketoff, this so- 
ciety published a part of the Russian Memorabilia, 
which contains costly materials for the Russian his- 
tory. Many of the labours of its members were de- 
stroyed by the invasion of the enemy. 

(27) The founder and director of this society was Pro- 
fessor Fisher. It published its labours under the 
following title : Memorabilia of the Society of Natu- 
ral Philosophy at the Imperial University of Mos- 
cow. In Russian and French, Moscow, 1809-1816, 
5 vols. 

(28) Under the presidency of that meritorious profes- 
sor, and active councillor of state, B. M. Richter. 

(29) The labours of this society appeared in the year 
1817, in 2 vols. 

(30) The Society for the Lovers of the Russian Lan- 
guage was established in 1810, by the exertions of 
many distinguished writers, among whom we may men- 
tion R. Dershawin and A. S. Schischkoff. It con- 
sisted of four divisions, of which each had a president, 
active members, and corresponding members. Be- 
sides these it had four conservators, and an unli- 
mited number of honorary members. The open 
sittings of the society took place monthly, in the 
house of the revered Dershawin, in a splendid hall 
built on purpose for these meetings. The better 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 95 

classes of the public attended these assemblies, in 
which the works of the most distinguished Russian 
writers, who were members of the society, were 
read. These essays appeared in print, in twenty single 
numbers, Petersburg, 1811-1816. The sittings of 
the society ended with the life of Dershawin. 

(31) This society, under the presidency of the rector 
of the Moscow University, A. A. Prokopowitsch-An- 
tonskj, contributed very significantly to the advance- 
ment of Russian literature. It held ordinary and 
extraordinary meetings, in which the works of the 
members were read aloud ; and published its labours 
in separate numbers, of which in the year 1822, 
twenty had already appeared. In these are to be 
found some useful and important treatises, which 
have reference to the history and theory of Russian 
literature, as well as some masterly poems. 

(32) This society published a volume of its labours in 
the year 1815. 

(33) The end of this society (the director of which 
was F. N. Glinka) was the promotion of enlighten- 
ment and general philanthropy. It held public 
and private sittings, and since the year 1818 has 
published a journal, entitled, The Promoter of En- 
lightenment. The money derived from the sale of 
this is devoted to the support of poor and merito- 
rious literati and artists. The most flattering re- 
sults have attended this benevolent undertaking. 

(34) The president of this society is, or was, the privy 
councillor Baron B. J. Vietinghof, and the director 
of it the professor and collegiate-councillor L. J. 
Pansner. It holds weekly sittings, and maintains 
scientific relations with the most distinguished mine- 
ralogists in Europe. In 1822 its labours had not 
yet been published. 

(35) Under the presidency of the academician and 
state-councillor A. J. Scherer. 



96 THE HISTORY OF 

(36) This society, under the presidency of Count Tol- 
stoi, founded and supported a school for 300 poor 
children, at St. Petersburg, and has contributed to 
the erection of similar schools in different parts of 
the empire. 

(37) We have mentioned in part the arrangements 
made for the ecclesiastical establishment in Russia. 
In the year 1700 a clerical school was founded at 
Tschernigow, and a similar one at Novogorod in 
1706. In compliance with an ecclesiastical edict of 
1721, a school for the children of the clergy was 
established, and a fixed form of management appointed 
in each eparchy. Subsequently to this the follow- 
ing schools were erected: — atNishnej-Novogorod and 
at the Cloister of Alexander-Newskj, at St. Peters- 
burg, in 1721 ; at Rasan, Twer, and Balgorod, 1722; 
at Kasan, Susdal, Kolomna, Wjatka, and Cholmogorj, 
in 1723 ; at Wologda, 1724 ; at Welikj-Ustjug, 1725; 
at Irkutsk, 1726; at Smolensk, Rostow, Pskow, and 
Tobolsk, 1728; at Astracan, 1729; at Woronesh, 
1731. After this the following seminaries were in- 
stituted :— that of Alexander-Newskj, 1732; at Ka- 
san and Pskow, 1733; at Wjatka, 1739; atNishnej- 
Novogorod, Rasan, Tobolsk, Perejasslawl, Welikj- 
Ustjug, 1738; the Krutinzkischian one at Wasma, 
that at Twer, Rostow, 1739; at Novogorod and Sus- 
dal, 1740; at the Lawra T of Troizk, and at Ja- 
rosslawl, 1747; at Wladimir, 1750; at Kaluga, 1775: 
at Astracan, 1777; at Sawsk and Wologda, 1778; 
at Jekaterinosslawl, Poltawa, Irkutsk, and Tambow, 
1779; atMogilefT, 1788; at Minsk, 1793; at Kami- 
niez-Podolskj and Withan, 1797; at Shitomir, 1799; 
at Perm, Pensa, and Orenburg, and the Armaisch 

r " Lawra," i. e. Cloister. A name only given to the most distin- 
guished and important of the monasteries; namely, those of Kieff,Troisk, 
and Alexander-Newskj. 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 97 

Seminary at St. Petersburg, 1800. To each of the four 
academies originally mentioned, jurisdiction was given 
over the subordinate ones in the same circle. To 
the St. Petersburg circle belonged the seminaries of 
Novogorod, St. Petersburg, Pskow, Twer, Mogileff, 
and Archangel ; to the Moscow one, those of Moscow, 
Jarosslaw, Rasan, Kaluga, Wladimir, Wologda, Tula, 
and Kostroma ; to that of Kieff, those of Kieff, Je- 
katerinosslaw, Tschernigow, Minsk, Podolsk, Smo- 
lensk, Kursk, Woronesh, Orlowa, Poltawa, the Vol- 
hynian-Shitomirshian, and the Slobodo-Ukrainian ; 
to that of Kasan, those of Kasan, Astracan, To- 
bolsk, Nishegorod, Wjatka, Irkutsk, Tambow, 
Perm, Pensa, and Orenburg. The district and 
parish schools within each particular eparchy were 
made subordinate to the eparchical seminary. The 
end which the great founder of these establishments 
had in view, — the true enlightenment of the people 
by means of the ministers of the Russian church, — has 
been amply fulfilled in its fruits, with the assistance 
of divine grace from above. 

The Language. 

§ 52. When we come to give an account of the 
changes which have taken place in the Russian 
language in the nineteenth century, we find it is 
absolutely necessary to begin with the end of the 
eighteenth. In the last years of Catherine's reign, 
as we have had occasion to observe, the Russian 
prose and lighter style of poetry were first formed. 
Between 1770 and 1780, Bogdanowitsch sang and 
Chemnizer wrote his inimitable fables. Van Wisin 
made the characters in his comedies talk Russian ; 
but this was only a weak and uncertain experi- 
ment. In the last decennium but one of the eigh- 



38 THE HISTORY OF 

teenth century, the didactic and easy style of Rus- 
sian prose began to be current among the people 
of Moscow, whose conversational language is re- 
markably pure and correct. At this period, when 
all felt the defects of the language w r hich had hi- 
therto prevailed, and after many ineffectual attempts 
had been made to improve it, and to get rid at 
once of the roughness of the common dialect, and 
the rhetorical bombast of the book-language, Ka- 
ramsin appeared. In the Moscow Journal the pub- 
lic found what their feelings had so long desired 
in vain, a light, agreeable, and accurate language. 
All read this prose with delight and interest ; the 
young writers with ardent emulation; the adherents 
of the old system, in spite of themselves. Karam- 
sin justly preferred the English and French con- 
struction to the long Latin and German periods, 
with which the Russian language had been hitherto 
fettered. He saw that this style, which is as free in 
poetry and the loftier subjects as the old style was 
contracted and stiff in didactic, narrative, or con- 
versational prose, was equally well fitted to convey 
the common popular expressions, and to follow the 
logical construction of the most polished European 
languages. The most distinguished allies of Ka- 
ramsin in his efforts for this purpose, are Muraw- 
jeff and PodschiwalofF. His success created an im- 
mense crowd of imitators, who did him much more 
harm than his enemies and opponents. They copied 
only his weak side, and exaggerated his faults. 
They introduced barefaced Gallicisms, and exhibited 
whole lines of French words in pages printed in the 
Russian character. The Russian language became 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 99 

full of strange phrases and foreign idioms. At this 
conjuncture (1S02) appeared Schischkoff's book, 
Upon the Old and New Style of the Russian Lan- 
guage, in which he warmly attacked this injurious 
fashion, and exposed all the ridiculous and unsuit- 
able novelties with which the writers of the time, 
in their attempts to follow Karamsin, disfigured the 
language. It must nevertheless be confessed, that 
this excellent critic, among a number of happy re- 
marks, has in a few points been led by his laudable 
zeal to drive his argument a little too far. For this 
controversy two regular parties arrayed themselves 
among the Russians ; viz. that of Moscow, which 
followed Karamsin ; and that of St. Petersburg, 
which advocated at once the old style of construc- 
tion, and the newly-coined words. The hostilities 
on both sides were violent and incessant ; in the 
end however a sort of compromise seems to have 
been made between the parties. The new style, 
introduced by Karamsin, but purified from the spots 
with which the imitators of that prose-writer had 
corrupted it, assumed a now undisputed pre-emi- 
nence in the Russian language. The Sclavonic 
idioms, the expressions of SumarokofF, the barba- 
rous words formed and terminated by caprice, were 
at once rejected, in the same manner as the mis- 
constructions of a Tredjakofskj and his companions 
had before been cast out of the melting-furnace, 
with which LomonossofF in the middle of the eigh- 
teenth century had first illumined the hitherto 
dreary abode of Russian literature. The lan- 
guage of the histories of this period give an exam- 
ple of a truly Russian, clear, pure, elevated, and 



100 THE HISTORY OF 

agreeable style. At this time the Russian language 
seems only to have wanted still the dialogue style 
used in genteel comedy. 

At the same period that Karamsin was working 
a revolution in the style of Russian prose, Dmitri- 
jeff began to write Russian verse in the narrative 
and didactic form. His tales, fables, satires, and 
songs, show the possibility of giving to Russian 
poetry all the lightness and neatness of the French. 
The regularity and completeness of his style justly 
attracted the greatest attention to his poetical 
works. 

These changes had already received their im- 
pulse under Catherine, but extended their influ- 
ence and made themselves universally known under 
the reign of Alexander, which became a new and 
brilliant era in the history of the Russian language. 
The elevation, the power, the lively and happy 
colouring in OserofF's tragedies, the delicacy and 
feeling in Shukofskj's poems; the elegiac style, the 
dignity of conception, the accurate delineation of 
nature exhibited in Batjuschkoff's works ; the sim- 
plicity, the natural turn, and the wit in the fables 
of Kriiloff — all these found materials for their ex- 
pression in the Russian language. 

The high diplomatic style received at the be- 
ginning of Alexander's reign new life from the pens 
of eminent statesmen. From the time of the or- 
ganisation of the different public offices, a striking- 
change took place in the ordinary style used in 
mercantile and legal transactions. Clearness and 
correctness succeeded to the former confusion and 
obscurity of the chancery-language (38). 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 101 

The verse-metres of Lomonossoff and Dersha- 
win had prevailed till the nineteenth century. In 
the year 1801, Wolstokoff began to make experi- 
ments with the metres of Sappho, Horace, and 
the other classics ; but the ear of the Russians, 
accustomed to simple iambics and choraics, did 
not appreciate these novel introductions. In the 
mean time, those who were best acquainted with 
ancient and modern literature, perceived that for 
the accurate translation of the works of antiquity 
into Russian, it was necessary to borrow the me- 
tres used by the classics themselves; and in 1813 
Gnaditsch made the first experiment of this by his 
translation of Homer into hexameters, such as had 
formerly been used by Tredjakofskj. This attempt, 
assisted by a favourable review, produced a bene- 
ficial result ; and in spite of the opposition made 
by the admirers of monotonous antiquity, Russian 
literature inclined itself in favour of the Greek me- 
tres. Shukofskj and WojejkofF supported by their 
labours the example set by Gnaditsch. 

The theory of the language continued singularly 
in the rear of the praxis. Although the Russians 
possessed distinguished writers in the different styles 
of poetry and prose, yet they had not yet a regular 
grammar adapted to the high position on which 
their language already stood. The Russian Aca- 
demy, by the publication of their Grammar in 1802, 
did much to supply this deficiency 11 . The labours 
of a Wostokoff, SokolofF, Born, Nikolskj, Heim, 
Linde, Vater, Tappe, Puchmaier, deserve honour- 



A third edition of this Gi 



ppe: 



102 THE HISTORY OF 

able mention. In aesthetics and criticism, the fol- 
lowing names are distinguished : Schischkoff, Ma- 
karofF, Martinoff, MerslakofF, and Ostolopoff. In 
bibliography, Sopikoff. 

(38) The manifestoes, ukases, and other public docu- 
ments, published since the accession of the late Em- 
peror Alexander, may be cited as models of diplo- 
matic style. Among these may be particularly no- 
ticed : the manifesto for establishing the rights of 
the nobility, and of the municipal communities : that 
upon the death of the grand Princess Alexandra 
Pawlowna : that addressed to the militia in 1 806, 
and others. In these the pen of Messrs. Speranskj 
and Schischkoff, is easily to be recognised. Exam- 
ples of a pure, correct, elevated, and grammatical 
style are to be met with in the St. Petersburg Jour- 
nal (1804-1809), which was issued at the ministerial 
office for the Interior. 

IV. 

Literature. 

§ 53. In our last period we left Russian litera- 
ture at the point when the exalted legislatress of 
Russia, by her own example, and by the encourage- 
ment of the nobles of her court, was doing her best 
to promote its advances. Her high-minded exer- 
tions were not left unrewarded. The Russian na- 
tion well responded to the expectations of its Em- 
press. In Moscow Russian literature flourished, 
and through the beneficial exertions of the uni- 
versity there, made considerable progress. This 
university assumed, from the date of its first esta- 
blishment, a decided Russian character ; and while 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 103 

it received an extended acquaintance with the 
sciences from foreign scavants, formed in the de- 
partment of literature distinguished men of its own. 
To the number of those who were chiefly instru- 
mental in spreading the love of learning and en- 
lightenment in Russia, belongs Nowikoff, who 
founded a typographical society, by the means of 
which he published a vast number of original Rus- 
sian works and translations, increased ten-fold the 
book-trade in Russia, and greatly added to the en- 
lightenment of his countrymen by the influence of 
the Moscow newspaper, into which he managed to 
infuse both strength of matter and versatility of 
style. In the years 1791 and 1792 appeared the 
Moscow journal of Karamsin. Cheraskoff, Der- 
shawin, DmitrijefF took part in it. The new and 
unaccustomed prose of the editor attracted the 
public. Nor was there any lack of imitators — as 
before a whole legion of lyric poets attempted by 
their turgidity and bombast to equal the elevation 
and sublimity of Dershawin, so in the present time 
dull prose writers sought to compare their morbid 
sensibility, their lachrymose tales, and affected tone, 
with the simple, natural, and agreeable descriptions 
of Karamsin. Some of them indeed preferred the 
level road, and gradually acquired a pure and 
correct taste ; but others remained in their works 
a solemn lesson to young writers, how Russian 
should not be written. At the end of the eigh- 
teenth century, the political horizon was overspread 
with dark clouds. The tempest of revolution burst 
over Europe, and the peaceful muses concealed 
themselves. Their voice was now seldom heard. 



104 THE HISTORY OF 

With the first blush of dawning peace, at the first 
year of the nineteenth century, Alexander ascended 
the throne. At the restoration of tranquillity, Rus- 
sian literature took a new spring, through the re- 
newal of its commerce with foreign countries, and 
the suppression of the restrictions of the press. In 
1802 Karamsin published first the European Mes- 
senger, which diffused a mass of useful information 
and greatly facilitated the improvement of taste 
and the cultivation of style. In 1803 appeared 
OserofF's tragedies ; their new and striking manner 
excited a powerful sensation among his contempo- 
raries, and a whole host of imitators. From 1805 
forward, appeared the poems of Shukofskj and Bat- 
juschkofF, which opened another new and entirely 
unknown path on the Russian Parnassus. By the 
force of their talents, these writers removed from 
Russian poetry the false and strained sensibility of 
former times, and purified the public taste by giving 
a model of truly good taste in feeling, in thought, 
in design, in arrangement, and in style. About 
this time the Russian writers felt the necessity of 
studying the classical authors, as the only sure 
guides in the field of literature and poetry. When, 
soon after the political storm again broke out, it 
checked indeed the progress of Russian literature, 
but was unable to arrest it entirely. In 1809 the 
society for encouraging the study of the Russian 
language, and in 1810 the society of the lovers of 
literature (see above, annot. 30, 31) were founded, 
the first at St. Petersburg, the other at Moscow. 
About this period appeared the Fables of Kriiloff. 
The events of 1812 and 1S13 arrested for a time 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 105 

the advance of literature. All the Russian authors, 
preferring the service of their country to that of 
the muses, abandoned their peaceful occupations. 
One part of them, choosing the profession of arms, 
stood in the ranks of the champions of their native 
land; the others consecrated all their power to the 
animation and increase of national spirit and pa- 
triotism among the people. After the restoration 
of peace, the occupations of tranquil times, and 
amongst them literature and science, were resumed. 
The friends of literature founded new societies, and 
resuscitated the spirit of the old ones. The fruits 
of the establishment or improvement of the uni- 
versities by Alexander showed themselves. The 
upper classes of the Russian population took an in- 
terest in the success of their native literature, and 
the lower orders sought to ennoble their own cha- 
racter by participating its instructions. The bene- 
ficial results of these exertions and of this zeal, 
could not be doubtful. To express in few words 
the characteristics of the Russian literature in re- 
cent times, it might be said, that under the Em- 
press Elizabeth the sciences, the arts, and general 
literature belonged exclusively to the court : that 
under Catherine the court occupied itself with 
them, because it was anxious to convey a par- 
ticipation in the same pursuits to the people by 
their example ; but that at the present day the 
Russians themselves find their glory and their en- 
joyment in these gifts of heaven, and bless Alex- 
ander, who had the magnanimity to furnish them 
the means of reaping the delicious fruits of peace 
and enlightenment. 



106 THE HISTORY OF 

The Russian church, which devotes much pains 
to the education of the people through the channel 
of an educated priesthood, reckons many distin- 
guished men in its ranks, who, by their talents and 
assiduity, confer honour on their order, and glory 
on their country The eloquence of a Filaret, an 
Amwrossj, and many other ornaments of the pulpit, 
at the same time that it edified their Christian 
hearers, enriched the literature of their country by 
supplying a model of sublime conception, and 
beautiful style. 

Russian history assumed, especially through the 
exertions of Schlozer, an entirely new aspect. This 
eminent author explained to the Russians the 
secret, and the high value, of historical criticism. 
The fables vanished, with which ignorance, super- 
stition, and false national vanity had been accus- 
tomed to adorn, or rather to invent, the history of 
Russia, since Russia, rich in really great deeds and 
characters, no longer stood in need of such fables. 
The work of Karamsin, to which he devoted the 
greatest part of his life, is a great and endurable 
monument of his talents, as it is a proof of the 
noble love of truth displayed by the highminded 
Alexander. One of the highest places in the list 
of writers on Russian history must be assigned to 
the excellent Eugenj. Special notice also might 
well be claimed by the labours of the metropo- 
litan Sestrenzewitsch-Bogusch, the Count Mussin- 
Puschkin, of Bantusch-Kamenskj, Malinofskj, Kat- 
schenofskj, Timkofskj, Buturlin, Richter, S. Glinka, 
Ewers, Krug, Lehrberg, Adelung, and Wichmann, 
in history ; and by those of Storch, Hermann, 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 107 

and Sablofskj, in statistics. The Count Rumanzoff 
earned for himself an imperishable monument in 
the pantheon of Russian history. 

The Russian theatre witnessed the appearance 
of singular talents in the person of Semenoff, who 
having had no prototype, has unhappily left no 
successor. Yet a hope may be expressed, that 
Russia, rich in talent of every kind, will not allow 
herself to be reckoned behind other nations in the 
cultivation of the dramatic art. The credit of the 
Russian theatre at St. Petersburg is materially owing 
to the assiduity of the distinguished dramatic writer 
Prince Schachofskoj. 

Writers. 

§ 54. We have given above the names of the 
writers who have done most either in the theory of 
language, or in the departments of history. In 
the elegant literature of the present century, the 
following claim also a distinguished position. 

1. Karamsin. 11. Shukofskj. 

2. Dmitrijeff. 12. Batjuschkoff. 

3. Murawjeff. 13. Wasemskj. 

4. Oseroff. 14. Schachofskoj. 

5. SCHISCHKOFF. 15. GnaDITSCH. 

6. podobadoff. 16. merslakoff. 

7. Dessnizki. 17. Ismailoff. 

8. Drossdoff. 18. Wojejkoff. 

9. Protassoff. 19. Puschkin. 
10. Kruloff. 



108 THE HISTORY OF 

Continuation. 

§ 55. The limits of this short history do not 
permit the author in this place to give a detailed 
account of all the writers who have been, and are 
illustrious in our own times in the belles-lettres and 
in poetry. We must confine ourselves to merely 
enumerating them by name. In lyrical and de- 
scriptive poetry during Alexander's time, the fol- 
lowing obtained well-merited applause. Panin, 
Pankratj, SumarokofT, Burinskj, MilonofT: at pre- 
sent the most distinguished living writers in the 
same style are Dawiidoff, Puschkin, SchatrofF, 
Prince GortschakofT, Bunina, SchichmatofT, Pana- 
jeff, and a few others of less note. In dramatic 
poetry Krukofskoj follows immediately after Ose- 
roff. Lobanoff, Kokoschkin, Chmelnizkj, Katenin, 
and WisskowatofF are distinguished by their trans- 
lations. Il'jin, Newachowitsch, and IwanofF by their 
dramas in prose. Among the prose writers, ho- 
nourable mention is due to the excellent translators 
of the classics, as MurawjefT-Apostol, Jastrebzoff, 
and Destuniss. The chief writers on military 
topics are F. Glinka, PissarefT, Golownin, and 
Bronefskj. In the lighter kinds of prose, and 
especially in translations, the first place should be 
given to W. IsmailofF and to Prince Schalikoff. 

Conclusion. 
§ 56. In conclusion we should have wished to 
give a general review of the present state of Rus- 
sian literature ; but it would be in vain. Every 
day the Russian language is enriched, the litera- 



RUSSIAN LITERATURE. 109 

ture adorns itself with new productions of Russian 
authors ; as, for instance, a Bulgarin, a Gretsch, 
an Oldekop, a Panajeff, a Raitsch, a Ssomoff, and 
a Zerteleff, and is hastening on with giant strides 
towards such an eminence, as will make it truly 
worthy of these illustrious names. 



THE HISTORY 
OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE 



BOOK II. 
LEXICON OF RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Containing a review of the different kinds of productions 
of the Russians in prose and verse. 

A. In Prose. 

I. Letters. The best Russian letters extant are 
those of Van Wisin, Karamsin, and Murawjeff. 

II. Dialogues: 

1) Dramatic: chiefly those of Van Wisin and Krii- 
loff. 

2) Philosophical: but few; the best in this style is 
the dialogue of Karamsin, Upon Good Fortune. 

III. Descriptions: such were left by Karamsin; 
for instance, Die Troizer Lawra, or, The Con- 
vent of Troizka, and An Account of the Desert 
of Arabia, after Buffon; by Batjuschkoff, Sketches 
of Finland, and On the Character of Lomonos- 
sofT; by Martiinoff, in imitation of Du Paty, The 
Death of Seneca, and The Conflagration ; by 
Wasemskj, Dershawin. 



112 

IV. Historical Works : 

1) L'dtopisse : the Russian history possesses many 
Latopisse, or Chronicles of the Old and Middle 
Ages ; beginning with Nestor. 

2) Practical History : 

a) Biography : this is very rare in Russian litera- 
ture. The most distinguished Russian charac- 
ters, as Peter the Great, Catherine the Second, 
Suwarroff, Lomonossoff, are still left without 
their biographers. Van Wisin and Podschiwa- 
loff began their autobiographies, but did not 
carry them on to the end. 

b) Political and National History. Before all, Ka- 
ramsin is distinguished. Lomonossoff was the 
lirst example of an elegant historical style. Still 
earlier historians are Tatischtscheff and Bol- 
tin. Among the most recent may be reckoned, 
the venerable Eugenj, Count Mussin-Puschkin, 
Katschenofskj, Olenin, Malinofskj, S. N. Glinka. 

e) Sacred and Ecclesiastical Histories. As speci- 
mens of this branch we may mention, Platon, 
Filaret, Amwrossj. 

d) Scientific Histories. To this class belongs Rich- 
ter's History of Medicine in Russia. 

e) Universal History. There are only attempts ; 
as for instance, that of KaidanofF; further than 
mere translations. 

S) Philosophical History : there are only attempts 
under this head likewise. 

V. Instruction Books : 

1) The Manuals of Lomonossoff, Rumofskj, Barssoff, 
GurjefF, Oserezkofskj, Sewergin, Sewastjanoff, 
Gamaleja, Strachoff, Nikolskj, Podschiwaloff, 
Merslakoff, Born, SokolofF. 



113 

2) Treatises : of Lomonossoff, Karamsin, Muraw- 
jefF, Filaret, Shukofskj, Gnaditsch, Batjuschkoff. 

3) Critiques, or Reviews : of Karamsin, Schischkoff, 
Makaroff, Benizkj, Merslakoff, Katschenofskj. 

VI. Orations : Russian literature is rich in these 
of every description. 

1) Clerical: here we should make particular and 
honourable mention of Feofan Prokopowitsch, Ge- 
deon, Platon, Anastassj, Georgj-Konifskj, Lew- 
anda, Augustin, Michael (Metropolitan of St. Pe- 
tersburg), Filaret, Amwrossj, Eugenj. 

2) Profane : those delivered by Lomonossoff and 
Karamsin ; and the academical addresses of many 
professors at the Moscow University. 

VII. Diplomatic Documents : the best specimens 
of style, are the manifestoes and ukases, etc. 
which were composed by Schischkoff, Speranskj, 
Wostokoff, and others. 

B. In Verse. 
a) Lyrical Poetry. 

I. Odes : the most successful writers of odes among 
the Russian poets, are Lomonossoff, Petroff, Der- 
shawin ; after them, come Dmitrijeff and Kap- 
nist. Also Cherasskoff, Bobroff, Merslakoff, and 
Wostokoff, wrote odes which deserve consider- 
able praise. 

II. Hymns : such as were written by Lomonossoff, 
Dershawin, Dmitrijeff, Karamsin, Shukoffskj. 

III. Ditiiyrambics : the Russians possess nothing 
worth mentioning in this class. 

i 



114 

IV. Lyrical-epic poems were composed by Der- 
shawin and Dmitrijeff. 

V. Songs : those of Dmitrijeff, Neledinskj-Melezkj, 
Karamsin, and Shukofskj. 

VI. Cantatas : nothing particular. 

VII. Elegies: principally by BatjuschkofF, and Shu- 
kofskj. 

VIII. Poetical Epistles : those of Dmitrijeff, Ka- 
ramsin, BatjuschkofF, Wasemskj, Shukofskj. 

IX. Smaller Lyrical Pieces : 

1) The Sonnet is peculiar to the southern nations of 
Europe. 

2) Triolets : Karamsin has tried this style. 

3) Rondos : Anna Petrowna Bunina. 

4) Epigrams: chiefly Dmitrijeff, BatjuschkofF, Wa- 
semskj ; besides these, W. Puschkin, Ruban, Ka- 
ramsin, Neledinskj-Melezkj. 

h) Epic Poetry. 

I. Heroic Poetry: Russian literature possesses two 
heroic poems of Cherafskoff, namely, The Ros- 
siad, and Wladimir. LomonossofF wrote only 
the two first cantos of his Peter the Great. The 
most classical translations in this class, are Kos- 
troff, Gnaditsch, and Wojejkoff. 

II. Romantic EpopiEiA : to this head must be as- 
cribed the Psyche of Bogdanowitsch. 

III. Comic Epop^ia : there is not much worth 
mentioning. The best is the piece called Dressed 
Fur-hides, by Schachofskoj. 



115 

IV. Poetical Narratives: such were left by Dmi- 
trijeff, Shukofskj, Batjnschkoff, P. SumarokofF. 
Besides this, the Fables of Kruloff, IsmailofF, and 
others. 

V. Ballads : the first distinguished ballad-writer 
among the Russians was Shukofskj, who intro- 
duced this class of Russian poetry. 

c) Romantic Poetry. 

I. The Romance : good romances, principally his- 
torical, have appeared but recently among the 
Russians. Bulgarin's Iwan Wuisbigin is among 
the best. Those of KalaschnikofF, Masskolskj, 
Sagoskin, and Sokoff, deserve perusal. 

II. Prosaic Narratives : by Karamsin and Shu- 
kofskj ; also by Benizkj. 

IIT. Maiirchen, or Traditional Tales : before all 
others the oriental deserve mention. Some mo- 
dern Russian writers have successfully imitated 
this style ; for instance, Daniloff, and L'woff. 

d) Dramatic Poetry. 

I. Tragedy : the first regular tragedies were writ- 
ten by Sumarokoff. Knashnin followed next. 
But the best writer in this style among the Rus- 
sians is Oseroff. 

II. Comedy : the best comedies are those of Van 
Wisin, Knashnin, Prince Schachofskoj, and Gri- 
bojedofF. 

III. The Drama : Il'in and Nenachowitsch distin- 



guished themselves in this branch. 



i2 



116 

IV. Operas : 

1) Grand Operas : the best in Russian is Ilja Mur- 
omez, by KriilofF. 

2) Operettas and Vaudevilles : to this class belong 
The Miller, by Ablessimoff; and sundry ope- 
rettas and vaudevilles by the Prince Schachofs- 
koj. 

3) Melodramas : there are none worth mentioning. 

e) Descriptive Poetry '. 

I. Descriptive, or Rural Poetry : there are no 
original Russian poems of this class. Among the 
translators in this branch, Wojejkoff is the most 
distinguished ; likewise Burinskj. 

II. Idylls and Eclogues : Merslakoff, Meschts- 
chefskj, PanajefF, have written these sorts of 
poems. 

f) Didactic Poetry. 

I. Didactic, or Instructive Poems: Russian litera- 
ture can boast no very great performances in 
this line. The best Russian didactic poem is 
entitled The Fruits of Knowledge, by Cherass- 
koff. Wojejkoff has also attempted the same 
style. 

II. Gnomic Poetry : the Russians found the model 
for their Gnomic poems, or proverbs, in the 
Scriptures ; some good specimens are scattered 
amongst the works of their principal poets ; but 
separate poems in this class are wanting. The 
traditional sayings and metrical proverbs of the 
people may be reckoned among this class. 



117 

III. Satires : in this class Kantimir and Dmitrijeff 
are excellent. After them follow Marin, Milo- 
noff, Kapniss, and WojejkofF. 

IV. Fables : the Prussians possess a rich store of 
beautiful fables. The first fable poet was Suma- 
rokoff. The best are Cheinnizer, Dmitrijeff, and 
Kriiloff. 



A LEXICON 
OF RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 



Ablessimoff (Alexander Anissimowitsch) was in- 
debted to a happy accident for the development of 
his genius ; for he was engaged in the service of 
Sumarokoff, and by being often employed by him 
to write out fair copies of his poems, he began 
first to feel in himself a strong turn for poetry. 
He completed several smaller poems, as fables, 
elegies, epigrams, and the like ; but the most re- 
markable of his productions is the comic opera 
called The Miller, which was performed for the 
first time in 1779, and had a run of twenty-seven 
consecutive nights at the Moscow theatre. Its 
simplicity, humour, and true representation of 
Russian manners, have still attractions for the 
Russian public ; and this" was the part in which the 
celebrated Russian actor Krutizki (born at Moscow 
1754, died 1803; compare Richter's Russian Mis- 
cellany, § ix. p. 145,) was so inimitable. Besides 
this he wrote the opera called Gain through Loss ; 
a comedy, entitled The Feast of the Chancery- 
Clerks; another, called Marching from Winter- 
Quarters ; and a dialogue, named The Pilgrim, for 
the opening of the new Peter's theatre in Moscow, 
in 1780. Ablessimoff was' also a soldier, and had 
the rank of a field-officer. He died at Moscow in 
the year 1784. 



120 A LEXICON OF 

Abraham (Palizun), a pater of the Sergian mo- 
nastery of Troizka, and the distinguished co- 
operator of Kosma, Minin, and Posharskj in the 
great work of delivering his native country from a 
foreign yoke, entered the monastical order at the 
end of the sixteenth century, and died between the 
years 1621 and 1629. A description of his politi- 
cal transactions does not fall within the province 
of this work. He wrote the history of the un- 
happy, but yet glorious times for Russia, in which 
he lived, in the following work, An Account of the 
Siege of the Sergian Monastery of Troizka, by the 
Poles and Lithuanians, and of the Troubles which 
broke out in Russia consequent upon it. This book 
was published at Moscow in 1784, in 4to. 

Achmatoff, author of a Historical, Chronologi- 
cal, and Geographical Atlas, intended as a compa- 
nion to Karamsin's History of the Russian Empire. 
The first part was published at St. Petersburg in 
1829, and the Emperor Alexander contributed a 
large sum to help to defray the expenses. The 
whole work will contain seventy-one parts, of which 
thirty-six are included in the first volume. Price 
fifty rubles. 

Adelung, councillor of state, etc. He assisted 
Storch in the composition of his work called A 
Review of Russian Literature from 1801 to 1805, 
which was written in the Russian language, and 
published at St. Petersburg in 1808. 

Agathon, a priest of the church of Sophia at 
Novogorod, composed, in the year 1540, a com- 
plete cycle for Easter for 8000 years,, and fifty- 
eight tables, with copious explanations* which shew 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 121 

a deep acquaintance for those times with the prin- 
ciples of mathematics, and the computation of 
calendars. A manuscript of these is preserved in 
the library of St. Sophia. 

Alexijeff (Peter), an arch-priest, is author cf a 
Russian Church-Lexicon, which was printed at the 
University of Moscow in 1773, and of which a third 
edition came out in five parts at St. Petersburg, 
A. D. 1817. (Compare Bacmeister's Russian Li- 
terature, vol. ii. p. 447.) 

Alipaxoff, a Russian serf, distinguished as a 
writer of fables in verse. The Academy of St. 
Petersburg, which published his poems in 1S34, 
awarded him a silver medal as a mark due to his 
merit. 

Amwrossj (Ambrosius), PodobadofT, metropoli- 
tan of Novogorod, senior member of the Holy 
Synod, and of the Commission for the Clerical 
Schools, also knight of several orders, was born 
on the 30th of November, 1742, in the govern- 
mental-department of Wladimir, and derived his 
education from the seminary of Troizka, where he 
became a pupil in the year 1764. In 1768 he took 
orders, and after being consecrated a hiero-mo- 
nach, was appointed preacher to the Clerical 
Academy at Moscow. In this office he acquired 
universal approbation, and made himself more par- 
ticularly known by a funeral sermon, which he 
delivered over the body of the archbishop of 
Moscow and Kaluga, Ambrosius (Amwrossj). 
The latter was born Oct. 17th, 1708, and his fune- 
ral was celebrated on the 16th of Sept. 1771. 
He had been put to death by the populace of 



122 A LEXICON OF 

Moscow. In the same year that this sermon 
was preached, its author was made prsefect of 
the Academy, and in 1774 rector and archi- 
mandrite of the Saikonopaskish Monastery. In 
1775 he attracted the particular notice of the 
Empress Catharine, by a beautiful discourse which 
he delivered in her presence. In 1778 he was 
consecrated bishop of Sawsk, and in this new 
office he displayed a warm zeal for the extension 
and perfection of places of religious education. 
In 1785 he found himself appointed to the arch- 
bishopric of Kasan, and during ten years he con- 
tinued to display an undiminished assiduity in per- 
forming the duties of the eparchy entrusted to 
him. In 1795 he was summoned to St. Petersburg 
as assessor of the Holy Synod ; in 1799 he was no- 
minated archbishop of St. Petersburg, Esthonia, and 
Finland ; and in 1800 he received, in addition, the 
eparchy of Novogorod. In the year 1801 he was 
preferred to the rank of metropolitan. The Em- 
peror Paul rewarded his zealous services with the 
order of St. Alexander and St. Andrew ; and in 
1808 the Emperor Alexander presented him with 
the order of St. Wladimir, CI. I., on the happy 
termination of the labours of the committee for the 
building and improvement of clerical schools. In 
January, 1818, on his own request, he was re- 
leased from the administration of the eparchy 
of St. Petersburg, but still retained that of Novo- 
gorod. On the 6th of May he came to Novogorod, 
and died there on the 27th of the same month, in 
the 77th year of his age. Of his writings the fol- 
lowing have appeared in print : 1. An Introduction 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. W3 

to the Study of the Holy Scriptures, both of the 
Old and New Testament, Moscow, 1779 ; a second 
and improved edition at St. Petersburg, 1S03. 2. 
A Collection of Discourses tending to edification, 
delivered on various occasions, three parts, Moscow, 
1810 ; second edition, 1816. 3. A Collection of 
Tributary, Congratulatory, and other Ceremonial 
Discourses delivered at different times in the pre- 
sence of members of the Imperial Family, Moscow, 
1810 ; second and enlarged edition, 1816. 

Amwrossi (ProtassofF), archbishop of Kasan 
and Simbirsk, and knight, was born in the 
eparchy of Moscow, 1769. He received his edu- 
cation at the seminary of Troizka ; from the year 
1790 he became a pupil in the academy at Moscow. 
In 1794 he took the tonsure, and in 1797 was ap- 
pointed prefect of that academy. In the year 
1799 he was called from the Archimandrite-Sergian- 
Hermitage to be rector of the Alexander-Newskj Se- 
minary; in 1804 he was made bishop of Tula and 
Balew, and in 1807 archbishop of Kasan and Sim- 
birsk. Different sermons and discourses, delivered 
by this prelate during his official service at various 
places, are to be found singly in periodical publi- 
cations — for instance, in the European Messenger, 
and in The Son of his Country, but they have not 
yet been printed collectively. 

Anastassjewitscii (Wassilj-Grigorjewitsch), born 
at Kieff, 1775, is known by his translation of the 
Phaedra of Racine ; by his editorship of the journal 
called The Beehive, in the years 1811 and IS 12, 
as well as by many critical and bibliographical 
articles in various periodicals, lie arranged the 



124 A LEXICON OF 

first systematic catalogue of Russian books, with 
an alphabetical classification of authors, which ap- 
peared in print at St. Petersburg in 1820. Com- 
pare the article Supikoff. 

Anastassj (Bratanofskj), archbishop of Astra- 
can, and knight of the order of St. Anne, CI. I., 
member of the Holy Synod, and of the Russian 
Academy, was born in the neighbourhood of Kieff, 
and in the country town of Baryschewka, the 16th 
of October, 1761. He studied at the seminary 
of Perejaslawl ; after the conclusion of his course 
in science he was appointed teacher in poetry and 
rhetoric at several seminaries, and last of all in the 
Alexander-Newskj Seminary. In the same year, 
1790, he took the monastic habit. In 1792 he was 
appointed religious teacher to the Land Cadet Corps. 
He was next made archimandrite to the monastery 
of Selenez ; in 1795 to the Sergian Hermitage of 
Troizka; and in 1796 to the Nowosposkischian 
Monastery of Moscow, and also a member of the 
Holy Synod. In 1797 he received the dignity 
of bishop of White Russia, and the order of St. 
Anne, CI. I. In 1801 he was appointed arch- 
bishop. In 1805 he was called to St. Petersburg 
as assessor of the Holy Synod, and at the end 
of the same year translated to Astracan, where 
he died on the 9th of December, 1816. Of his 
works, the following have appeared in print. 
1. Discourses tending to Edification, held at dif- 
ferent times and places, four parts, Svo. The 
first part appeared in 1796, at St. Petersburg; the 
second part in 1799; the third part in 1806; and 
the fourth part, 1807, at Moscow. 2. An Intro- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 12.3 

duction to the composition of Sermons, written in 
Latin, and entitled Tractatus de concionis disposi- 
tionibus formandis, printed at Moscow in 1806, in 
8vo. Besides this he translated from the French, 
A Caution against Infidelity and Ungodliness, St. 
Petersburg, 1794. 2. The Lamentations of the 
Prophet Jeremiah, a poem of Arnaud, St. Peters- 
burg, 1797. 3. The true Messias, or Proofs of 
the Divine Mission of Jesus Christ, and his 
Divinity, Moscow, 1801. And 4. An Essay on 
Perfectibility, from Formey, St. Petersburg, 1S05. 
Anastassj occupies one of the first places in the 
list of Russian preachers. His sermons, in point 
of style, are the best which had appeared up to 
this time. He softened the rough language which 
it had been considered proper to employ till his 
time in works of this description, and approx- 
imated more to the modern Russian language, 
used in polite conversation. His best sermons 
are those delivered in St. Petersburg from 1792 to 
1796, and make up the first part of his Edifying 
Discourses. 

Andrej (LiislofF), a priest of the town of Smo- 
lensk, lived in the second half of the seventeenth 
century. He composed a History of Scythia, in 
five books, and employed in its construction Ro- 
man, Polish, and Russian authorities. He himself 
deposited a copy of this work in 1692 in the pa- 
triarchal library, and remarked in the title-page, 
that he had first written it in the Sclavonic-Polish, 
or White-Russian language, and afterwards trans- 
lated it into Sclavonic-Russian. This history was 
published by NowikofF, at St. Petersburg, in 1770, 



126 A LEXICON OF 

and afterwards in 1787 at Moscow, in three vo- 
lumes. 

Arsenj (Hieromonach), lived at Moscow in the 
time of the Czar Michael Feodorowitsch, founded 
there the Greek and Latin Sclavonic school, and 
introduced the use of fine long-shaped letters in 
writing, which in the Moscow synodal typography- 
still retain the name of the Arsenjic alphabet. 

Arsenj (Satanofski). See Epiphanj. 

B. 

Bacmeister (Hartman Ludwig Christian), coun- 
cillor of state, and knight ; was born in 1730, in 
the province of Ratzeburg, lived till 1778 as inspec- 
tor of the .Gymnasium at St. Petersburg, and from 
1786 to 1801 as councillor in the office for expe- 
diting the public revenues. From 1772 to 1789 
he was engaged in the publication of the well-known 
Russian library, in eleven volumes ; which contains 
information respecting all the books which had then 
appeared in Russia. He also translated into Ger- 
man, The Journal of Peter the Great, and The 
Biography of Count B. P. Scheremetjeff, written 
by Miiller. In the Russian language he pub- 
lished at St. Petersburg in 1771, Topographical 
Notices respecting the Empire of Russia, in 
four volumes. He died in 1806, aged seventy-six 
years. 

Bacmeister (Johann). From the year 1756 li- 
brarian to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. 
Among other things, he wrote a treatise on the 
library, and on the cabinet of curiosities and na- 
tural history of the said Academy. This work 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 127 

abounds in learned and interesting information. 
He died in 1794. 

Baikoff (Feodor Issokijewitsch), a woywode of 
Siberia, was sent as ambassador to China. He 
wrote a diary of his journey, which is printed in 
the fourth volume of the Ancient Russian Library, 
and in the second part of the Siberian Messenger. 

Bantusch-Kamensskj (Nikolai Nikolajewitsch), 
acting councillor of state and knight, director of 
the imperial archives at the college of the foreign 
department in Moscow, was born in 1738 at Neshin, 
studied at the academies at Kieff and Moscow, 
lived afterwards at the university of Moscow, and 
after retiring from it in 1762, presided until 
his death, over the archives of Moscow. He 
brought into order the valuable materials collected 
there for ancient and modern Russian history; 
described the efficiency of that institution, and re- 
viewed a considerable portion of the Russian di- 
plomatic instruments. Of his numerous writings 
on these subjects, the only one printed is the His- 
torical Notice, respecting the existing unions in 
Poland, published at Moscow in 1795. Besides 
this, he composed several books of instruction for 
the use of the clerical schools. He died January 
20th, 1814. Copious information respecting him 
may be found in his Life, which was published at 
Moscow in the year 1818. 

Bantusch-Kamensskj (Dmitrj Nikolajewitsch), a 
son of the foregoing, and also appointed to the su- 
perintendence of the archives at the college of the 
foreign department, published the following works. 
1. Travels in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Servia, 



128 A LEXICON OF 

Moscow, 1810. 2. The Actions of the most cele- 
brated Generals and Ministers, who lived during 
the reign of Peter the Great, two parts, Moscow, 
1812-1813. 3. The Life of the Most Reverend 
Ambrosius, archbishop of Moscow and Columna, 
who was murdered in 1771, Moscow, 1813. 4. A 
Historical Catalogue of the Distinguished Knights 
of the Four Imperial Russian Orders, Moscow, 
1814. 

Baranowitsch. See Lasar. 

Barkoff (Iwan Semenowitsch), translator to the 
Academy of Sciences, died in the year 1768, at 
St. Petersburg. He was author of A Biography of 
Prince Antiochus Kantemir, and notes to his Sa- 
tires, which were published, together with the Sa- 
tires themselves, in 1672. A Sketch of Russian 
History from the times of Rurik to those of Peter 
the Great, which he wrote, has never been printed, 
and probably is not deserving of publication ; for 
Barkoff was a very poor judge on matters of 
history, and completely spoiled the first edition of 
Nestor, the editing of which had been confided to 
him by the Academy. Of his translations, the fol- 
lowing are known : 1. The Satires of Quintus Ho- 
ratius Flaccus, in verse, with Notes, St. Petersburg, 
1763. 2. Pha3drus' Fables, with the original, and a 
Life of the Author, St. Petersburg, 1764. 3. Hol- 
berg's Universal History, from the Latin, St. Peters- 
burg, 1766 ; second edition, 1796. 4. The Peace 
of the Heroes, a Drama, from the Italian, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1766. Barkoff may be called the Scarron 
of Russia. 

Barssoff (Anton Alexejewitsch) professor of elo- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 129 

quence, college-councillor, and knight, was edu- 
cated at the Clerical Academy at Moscow, and at 
the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, under Lo- 
monossoff. In ] 755 he became assistant-professor 
in the university; in 1761, on the death of Popofskj, 
professor of eloquence, he succeeded to his place, 
and occupied the same post till his own death, which 
occurred in 1791. Besides his other and peculiar 
labours, he busied himself with projecting the plan 
for the Foundling Hospital at Moscow. At the 
command of Catherine the Second, he wrote A 
Collation of the Russian Latopisses, or Chronicles, 
from the year 1224; the preparation of which sup- 
plied him with plenty of useful materials on the sub- 
ject of ancient Russian history. Barssoff, however, 
occupied himself particularly with The Russian 
Grammar, and presented it reduced to a complete 
and regular system, to the commission for the im- 
provmement of the national schools. But this 
work, alas ! was allowed to remain imprinted. He 
endeavoured to banish the letters jerr, ishe, and 
schtscha, from the Russian alphabet ; and tried hard 
to introduce several similar improvements. On 
various occasions he delivered festival and pane- 
gyrical discourses, which are to be found printed in 
the Collection of Speeches of the Moscow Profes- 
sors. 

Baschiloff (Semen), a distinguished pupil of 
Schlozer, studied at the University of Moscow ; 
first served as a teacher at the Seminary of the 
Lawra, or Monastery, of Troizka; afterwards, 1764, 
as translator to the Academy of Sciences at St. Pe- 
tersburg. He was employed in 1 76,9 in the commis- 

K 



130 A LEXICON OF 

sion for the formation of a new statute-book ; and 
in 1770 was appointed secretary to the senate. He 
died in 1771, only thirty years old. In 1767 he 
published, under the direction of Schlozer, the first 
part of The Russian Chronicles, from the manu- 
script of Nikon ; and in 1768, with the assistance 
of Polanoff, a translator to the Academy, he pub- 
lished the second part. This publication deserves 
attention, because it had the advantage of being 
edited, in the first instance, under the regulation of 
a learned critic. 

BATjuscHKOFF(KonstantinNikolajewitsch), impe- 
rial councillor and knight, born at Wologda on 
the 18th of May, 1787, received his education at a 
school in St. Petersburg, and began first to interest 
himself in the sciences and elegant literature under 
the guidance of his uncle, M. N. Murawjeff, who 
took him with him in 1805 as his secretary in 
the department of belles lettres at Moscow. The 
war of 1806 called him away from the civil service, 
and the peaceful occupations of poetry, in which he 
had already begun to show his natural powers with 
the most flattering success. He entered the defen- 
sive battalion of the St. Petersburg militia, marched 
with that corps to the Prussian war, was engaged 
in the battle on the banks of the Passarge, and re- 
ceived in the engagement near Heilsberg a serious 
wound from a musket-ball in the foot, from which 
he suffered a long time. On his return to St. Pe- 
tersburg he was decorated with the order of St. 
Anne, 3rd CI. and changed into the regiment of 
Jager-guards. After this he served in Finland, 
was present at many warm engagements ; returned 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 131 

at the conclusion of peace to St. Petersburg, and 
entered the civil service as librarian to the Im- 
perial Public Library. The year 1812 approach- 
ed. Russia armed herself as one man. Mos- 
cow blazed in flames. Batjuschkoff; forgetting his 
wound, from which he still suffered unremittingly, 
once more embarked in military service, as staff 
captain and adjutant to general Bachmetjeff, and 
was under general Rajefskj in all the events of the 
war through the campaigns of 1813 and 1814, till 
the taking of Paris. His zeal for the service was 
rewarded by his being moved into the Ismailoff 
regiment of guards, and by the order of St. Anne, 
2nd CI. In the year 1816 he abandoned the mili- 
tary profession, and in 1818 he was placed by go- 
vernment in the College of Foreign Affairs, and 
attached to the embassy at Naples, with the rank 

of imperial councillor. Batjuschkoff's writings, 

which had been published in various periodicals, 
were republished together, by N. P. Gnaditsch, 
under the title of Batjuschkoff's Poetical and Prose 
Works, in 2 vols, at St. Petersburg, 1817. The first 
volume contains 335, and the second 256 pages. 
In the first part his prose works are contained, and 
in the second his poetry. In prose Batjuschkoff 
wrote among other things: 1. Something about 
Poetry and Poets. 2. On the Character of Lomo- 
nossoff 3. On the Works of M. N. Murawjeff, 
Tasso, and Ariosto. 4. Petrarch. 5. An Evening 
with Cantemir. 6. A Walk in the Academy of 
the Arts. 7. A Fragment of some Letters from 
Finland. 8. Upon the best qualities of the heart. 
9. On Morality grounded on Philosophy and Re- 

k 2 



1S2 A LEXCION OF 

ligion, and so forth. In verse Batjuschkoff wrote 
elegies, epistles, the fable called The Traveller and 
the Stayer-at-home, several lyrical pieces, many epi- 
grams, inscriptions, and the like. To the infinite re- 
gret of all lovers of poetry this talented writer has 
limited his performances to the essays and transla- 
tions which are contained in this collection. During 
the whole period of his stay in Italy, with the ex- 
ception of a few simple poems, he wrote absolutely 
nothing. Who does not wish that the propitious 
climate of the native land of a Virgil, a Tibullus, a 
Petrarch, and a Tasso, had been able to renovate 
the health of this son of song, and that on his re- 
turn to his own country he had seized again the 
lyre which he had abandoned. Plenty of details 
respecting the character and merit of his works, 
may be found in PletnefT's Universal Characteris- 
tics of Russian Poets. We may, however, allow 
ourselves room in this place to introduce what 
Alexander Bestuscheff says so happily of this in- 
spired poet. " Batjuschkoffs poetry is like the 
jet of a fountain, which for a time flows smoothly 
down, but presently, if a storm sweeps by it, 
scatters its waters far and wide. Then, like the 
light of the sun refracted in the thousand drops of 
water as they fall, the new and bold brilliance of 
his thoughts is scattered and shines over his poetry. 
Rivalling Anacreon, he celebrates the enjoyments 
of life. A delicious far niente, and the living in- 
spiration of love, are the alternate objects of his 
praise, and communicate themselves like the elec- 
tric spark to the heart of the reader. The irre- 
sistible charm of harmony, the happy choice of 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 133 

the most easy yet felicitous expressions, and the 
general fascination of his style, complete his tri- 
umph. The graces themselves appear to lend 
him his colours, and the finest perception and 
taste to guide his pen. In short, Batjuschkoff is 
and will remain a classical poet, and would have 
been so, had he never written anything more than 
The Death of Tasso." 

Benizki (Alexander Petrowitsch), born 1780, 
died Nov. 30, 1809, was educated at Moscow, at 
the school of professor Schaden. After this he 
served in the army, left it again as lieutenant, and 
at last was employed in the statute-commission at 
St. Petersburg. In 1807 appeared his Thalia, or a 
Collection of Russian Compositions in Verse and 
and Prose, the first part. Among his own articles 
in this collection are the following: 1. The Nar- 
rative of Ibrahim and the magnanimous man. 2. 
The Poem of Komala, translated into metre from 
Ossian. And 3. some Fables. In the year 1809 
he edited, together with A. J. Ismailoff, a monthly 
periodical, called the Nosegay (Zzvetmk), in which, 
among other things, he was the author of the tale 
called The new Wessir, several powerful criticisms, 
translations of lyrical poems, fables, and numerous 
writings in prose. Benizki, who in his tales af- 
forded a most perfect model of a prose style, earned 
himself in a short time a high reputation, as one of 
the most distinguished names in Russian literature. 
His too early death, occasioned by mental suffer- 
ings, deprived Russia of the brightest expecta- 
tions, which had been formed of this accomplished 
writer. 



134 A LEXICON OF 

Berg (Wassilj), commander of the Corps of Pi- 
lots to the imperial fleet, and member of the 
learned Board of the Admiralty, is known by his 
numerous and meritorious additions to the History 
of Russian Literature. The two first volumes of 
his Collection of Letters and other writings of Pe- 
ter the Great, addressed to various persons, toge- 
ther with their respective answers — relating chiefly 
to the concerns of the Admiralty, and illustrating 
the views and plans of the Emperor with regard to 
the formation of the Russian marine — appeared at 
St. Petersburg in the year 1829, and were printed 
at the charge of the Admiralty chest. Two other 
volumes were to follow in 1830. Berg died on the 
3rd of January, 1835. 

Berunda. See Pamwa. 

Bestuscheff (Alexander), author of a very valu- 
able, concise, and luminous General Review of Rus- 
sian Literature, and editor of the literary annual 
called The Polar Star. This much admired writer, 
whose poems also deserve the highest praise, died 
in the present year, 1837, a victim to the climate 
of the Caucasus, which has too aptly been denomi- 
nated the Sierra Leone of Russia. 

Bobroff (Semen Sergejewitsch), assessor of col- 
leges, received his education at the University of 
Moscow, and since 1784 has made himself known 
by his poetry. The most remarkable of his poems 
is The Chersonese, or A Summer's Day on the 
Tauric Peninsula; St. Petersburg, 1803. His lyrical 
poems appeared in four parts at St. Petersburg in 
1804, under the title of The Daybreak of the 
North. In the years 1807-1809 he published the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 135 

poem called The ancient Night of the Universe, or 
The Blind Wanderer, in 4 volumes. This poet, who 
died at St. Petersburg in 1810, had a fiery imagi- 
nation and a deep fund of feeling, but the manner 
and choice of his expressions is not always clear or 
happy, and his sublimity is not seldom approaching 
to bombast. He was, however, better acquainted 
than any other Russian writer with the treasures of 
English literature. 

Bogdanowitsch (Hyppolit Feodorowitsch), col- 
legiate-councillor, and member of the Russian Aca- 
demy, was born on the 23rd of December, 1743, in 
the Little Russian town of Perewolotschna, where 
his father held an office under government. He 
received his education principally in the house of 
his forefathers, and in 1754 he attended the Mathe- 
matical School attached to the comptoir of the se- 
nate. His strong turn for the dramatic art, which 
he had acquired by the reading of dramatic works, 
and by frequenting the theatre, determined him at 
the age of fifteen, to present himself to M. M. Che- 
raskoff, who at that time was superintendent of the 
Moscow theatre, with a request to be engaged there 
as an actor. Cheraskoff, perceiving in him unusual 
abilities, dissuaded him from this intention, and 
taking him with him to his own house, introduced 
him to the University, where he soon acquired a 
rich store of information and good taste. In the 
year 1761 he was appointed supervisor of the classes 
of the University, and in 1 763 to be translator on 
the staff of Count P. J. Panin. In 1765 he was 
made translator to the College of the Foreign De- 
partment, and in the following year sent as secre- 



136 A LEXICON OF 

tary of legation to the court of Dresden. In 
1768 he returned to St. Petersburg, and continued 
to be employed in the civil service. In 1780 he 
was made a member, and in 1788 president of 
the Imperial Archives. In 1795 he resigned, and 
selected first the town of Sumy, and in 1798 the 
town of Kursk, as his place of residence. In the 
beginning of December, 1802, he fell sick, and on 
the 6th of January, 1 803, he died, at his own coun- 
try-house near Kursk. Bogdanowitsch began when 
only seventeen years old to write poetry in the 
house of his patron Cheraskoff. In the year 1 763 
he published the journal called Innocent Pas- 
times, and all at once appeared in the full force of 
his genius. He translated very happily the poem 
of Voltaire, On the Destruction of Lisbon, and 
wrote numerous delightful poems for his journal. 
In 1765 he composed a little didactic poem, in three 
cantos, entitled The Double Good Fortune. After 
his return to St. Petersburg in 1768, he translated : 
1. Vertot's History of the Revolutions in Rome, 
in three parts, printed at St. Petersburg, 1771- 
1775. 2. Several articles from the Encyclopaedia. 
3. -The Thoughts of the Abbot St. Pierre on Eter- 
nal Peace. 4. The Ode of Michael Angelo Gia- 
netti to Catherine the Second, which afforded him 
an opportunity of being presented to the Empress. 
He composed originally Historical Representations 
of Russia, St. Petersburg, 1777, one part; and from 
1778 he edited, for the space of about sixteen 
months, The St. Petersburg Messenger. In 1778 
appeared his romantic poem Duschinka, the most 
eminent of his productions, by which he earned 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 137 

an immortal wreath on the Parnassus of Russian 
poetry. After this Bogdanowitsch wrote: 1. A 
lyrical comedy called The Joy of Duschinka. 2. A 
drama, entitled The Sclaves, St. Petersburg, 1782; 
and 3. two small pieces upon Russian Proverbs. 
At the desire of the Empress Catherine the Second, 
he published at St. Petersburg, in 1785, a Collection 
of Russian Proverbs, in 3 vols. Many minor poems 
of his, especially songs, are printed in the collec- 
tions of the Society of Friends of the Russian 
Language. They are distinguished by their sim- 
plicity and elegance. Besides this Bogdanowitsch 
was peculiarly happy in his translations of all the 
poems which Voltaire, Marmontel, and others, had 
written in honour of Catherine. Among Bogda- 
nowitsch's works, Duschinka occupies the first place, 
and to this day is without an equal in the compass 
of Russian literature. It professes to be a trans- 
lation of La Fontaine's fable of Psyche ; but the 
translation is worthy of the original, and in many 
parts far surpasses it in real poetical beauty. Bog- 
danowitsch moreover is the first writer among the 
Russians who clothed poetic narrative in a light, 
hearty, and witty style. " Lomonossoff, Sumaro- 
koff, and CheraskofF," to use the words of Karam- 
sin, " could only serve as his models in the other 
branches of the art." A very beautiful criticism on 
this poem, with notices respecting the life of the au- 
thor, is printed in the eighth volume of Karamsin's 
works. The Duschinka drew upon its author the 
attention of Catherine, and the regard of the Rus- 
sian public. The Empress covered him with fa- 
vours ; all the lovers of literature prized and 



138 A LEXICON OF 

esteemed him. After the appearance of this poem, 
Bogdanowitsch wrote comparatively but little ; " as 
if the poet/' as Karamsin says, " from love for his 
favourite Duschinka, was willing to leave to her 
the honour of being the unique and superlative 
creation of his genius. The works of Bogdano- 
witsch were printed at Moscow in 1809-1810, in 6 
vols. ; and a second edition in 1818, in 4 vols. 

Bojan, an old poet, of whom mention is made in 
the heroic poem of the twelfth century, called The 
Oration to the Army of Igor ; where, among other 
allusions, the following appeal is made to him : "O, 
Bojan, nightingale of the times that are gone! O, 
Bojan, it is for thee to sing the song of Igor !" All 
endeavours to find any of his works, or indeed any 
information about him, have as yet been in vain. 

Bolchowitinoff. See Eugenj. 

Boltin (Iwan Nikititsch), a major-general, and 
member of the Russian Academy, was born at St. 
Petersburg, 1 735, and died the 6th of October, 1792. 
His first work was, A Description of the Mineral 
Waters and Baths of Sarepta; St. Petersburg, 1782. 
But accident soon discovered in him a profound 
acquaintance with the antiquities of his native 
country, especially of its history. For as he was 
reading the Moral, Municipal, and Political History 
of Old and New Russia, by the physician Le Clerc, 
which had been published at Paris in 1787, in five 
volumes, he wrote merely for his own use, a series 
of critical notes and remarks upon it, without having 
the slightest idea of ever having them printed. But 
some of his acquaintances, and especially the Prince 
Potemkin, who had seen at his house some of these 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 139 

critical annotations, encouraged him to arrange, 
and complete them. They were subsequently- 
printed by the desire of the Empress Catherine 
the Second, at the charge of the cabinet, in the 
year 1788, at St. Petersburg, in two volumes 4to. 
In these commentaries Boltin convicts Le Clerc 
of unwarrantable untruths and mis-statements with 
regard to Russia, of ignorance of the Russian his- 
tory, as well as language, and the foolish presum- 
tion of asserting facts of which he had neither oral 
nor ocular proof. This work was also translated 
into French. The subsequent controversy of Bol- 
tin with Prince Schtscherbatoff, and the polemical 
writings of each on their respective sides of the 
question, are mentioned more particularly in the 
biographical notice of the latter, (see article Schts- 
cherbatoff.) In all these writings of Boltin are to 
be found many important and interesting enquiries, 
and explanations of the most difficult passages in 
ancient Russian history, although manifest errors are 
interspersed among them, as may be seen from the 
remarks of Prince Schtscherbatoff upon his work. 
It is to be lamented that Boltin not unfrequently in 
these writings, as well as in his criticisms on Le Clerc, 
allowed his philological learning to be made the 
medium of conveying personalities ! Besides these 
critical works, Boltin also wrote at the command of 
the Empress Catherine the Second, Remarks upon 
her own Historical Sketch illustrative of the Life 
of Rurik, which were printed, together with that 
composition, in 1 792, at St. Petersburg, in large lto., 
with a German translation by the side. He also 
took a prominent part in the translation and ex- 



140 A LEXICON OF 

planation of the famous Russian Rights, which were 
published at St. Petersburg in 1792. After Bol- 
tin's death, the Empress purchased from his heirs 
all his papers and books, and made a present of 
them to Count A. J. Mussin-Puschkin, the friend 
and fellow-labourer of the deceased. He left be- 
hind him a hundred chests full of writings, and 
amongst them were found, besides numerous other 
works : 1 . A Translation of the Encyclopaedia as 
far as the Letter K ; the fair copy written out by 
his own hand. 2. A Historical and Geographical 
account of the Governmental Departments. 3. 
An Explanatory and Copious Sclavonic-Russian 
Dictionary; the letter A entire, and an immense 
quantity of materials for the completion of this 
large and laborious work. 4. Extracts for the Un- 
derstanding of the old Chronicles, with an expla- 
nation of antiquated and obsolete words, and Geo- 
graphical names, which are used in the old Chro- 
nicles. From these miscellaneous materials, Count 
Mussin-Puschkin made a selection, and arranged 
the publication of it with additions to complete the 
deficiencies from the labours of other authors, by 
the title of An Account of the Tribes, Towns, and 
Provinces, which is printed at the end of his own 
book, A Historical Enquiry into the Situation of 
the ancient Russian Principality of Tmutarakan, 
St. Petersburg, 1794. With the assistance of the 
resources contained in these manuscripts, he also 
edited three parts of TatischtschefTs Russian His- 
torical, Geographical, Political, and Municipal Lexi- 
con, in the year 1793, at St. Petersburg. This 
critic had manifold and extensive learning in Ian- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. Ill 

guages and science, a penetrating perspicacity, and 
an unequalled industry, which he devoted to the 
advantage and glory of his native country. 

Born (Iwan Martin owitsch), councillor of state, 
and knight, tutor to the Princes of Oldenburg at 
Stuttgard, published in 1808, A Short Introduc- 
tion to Russian Eloquence; which contains a gram- 
mar, short rules of rhetoric and poetry, and a his- 
tory of Russian literature. Born was one of those 
who, in 1803, founded the St. Petersburg Society 
for the Friends of Literature, Science, and the Arts. 
Bratanofskj. See Anastassj. 
Bronefskj (Wladimir Bogdanowitsch), inspector 
of the Alexander School at Tula, captain of the 
navy, second class, and knight, was born at Ba- 
lew in 1786, and received his education in the 
Cadet Corps at Moscow. In 1802 he became an 
officer, and served in several naval expeditions. 
He visited Sweden, Denmark, Norway, England, 
Portugal, and Turkey. He traversed on foot 
Austria, Hungary, and Poland. In the campaign 
against the Turks in 1806, he was severely wounded, 
and was rewarded with the decoration of the 
order and ribbon of St. Wladimir; but in 1819 
he received the order of St. George, for having 
served in eighteen campaigns. The Russian pub- 
lic should be grateful to Herr Bronefskj, for a 
complete and detailed description of the voyage of 
the celebrated Russian admiral, Senawin, which 
was published by the following title : The Log- 
Book of a Naval Officer in the Expedition in the 
Mediterranean Sea, under Vice-Admiral I). N. Senii- 
win, from 1805 to 1810; St. Petersburg, 181 8- J 820, 



142 A LEXICON OF 

four parts. In this journal, as Bestuscheff remarks, 
"the author lays before us the shores of the_Me- 
diterranean as in a panorama. He rivets the at- 
tention of the reader by the variety of his subjects, 
by the floridness of his style, by his glowing de- 
scriptions of land and sea engagements, and by the 
fire with which he describes to us the heroic ex- 
ploits of the enemies, the allies, and the sons of his 
country. He sustains the interest throughout, and 
never falls into tediousness. It is a pity only that 
his language is not uniformly correct in idiom." 

Bulgakoff (JakofF Iwanowitsch), an acting privy- 
councillor, and knight ; honorary member of the 
Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg ; was for a 
long time Russian ambassador at Warsaw, and Con- 
stantinople, and died at Moscow, July 7th, 1809. 
He attracted the attention of the Russian public by 
numerous good translations of important works. 
For instance, the following were among the number : 
The Traveller Round the World ; from the Abbe 
de la Porte, in twenty-seven parts, St. Petersburg, 
1778: second edition, 1780: third edition, 1803: 
and fourth edition, 1813. 2. The Orlando Ina- 
morato ; from Ariosto, in three books, St. Peters- 
burg, 1797 : third edition, 1800. It is worthy of 
remark, that most of these translations were under- 
taken in Constantinople. 

Bulgarin (Thaddasus Wenediktowitsch), a lite- 
rary honour to Poland, and remarkable for the spi- 
rit of his writings in the Russian language. Gifted 
with a nicely critical, and highly original taste, and 
at the same time boldly adopting an entirely new 
style of his own, he need not fear to compare him- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 143 

self with the proudest names in Russian literature. 
His Sketches in Spain, in which (as A. Bestuscheff 
remarks) he draws as an eye-witness many spirit- 
stirring scenes from the national war of the Spa- 
niards with the French, and describes that highly- 
favoured land with all the glowing colours of a 
panorama, have been read, together with many 
other articles of his in periodicals, not only by Rus- 
sians, but by the whole of Europe, with the greatest 
pleasure. Besides this, he is the editor of a work 
published at St. Petersburg, called the Northern 
Archives, which carries the torch of archaeology 
into yet unexplored mines of antiquity, and con- 
tains useful materials for Russian history, and im- 
portant extracts from the most recent travels both 
of Russians and of foreigners. In the same publica- 
tion appeared Lelewel's Critical Review of Karam- 
sin's History of Russia, which is written with great 
impartiality, correct judgment, and sound learning. 
The Journal of Intelligence, which belongs to the 
Northern Archives, and is also edited by Bulgarin, 
has transplanted the Hermit in Paris to the banks 
of the Neva, and affords the public an interesting 
and amusing course of reading, in which the au- 
thor sketches with great terseness and spirit the 
prevailing manners of the capital and busy world. 
A French translation of this Russian Hermit ap- 
peared under the title of Boulgarin, Archippe 
Thaddeevitch, ou VHermite Russe. Tableau des 
Mamrs Russes au 19 Steele. Suivi de Melanges 
historiques et anecdotiques sur cette nation ; tra- 
duit da Russe. Paris, chez Bossange, 1 828, 3 vols. 
avec planches. The most recent productions of 



144 A LEXICON OF 

this witty writer, are the following romances : 1 . 
Iwan Wushigin ; of which the whole of the first 
impression (2400 copies) was sold off in the space 
of a week. Herr Oldekop has given us a German 
translation of it, by the title of Iwan Wuishigin ; a 
moral and satirical novel, by Th. Bulgarin. Trans- 
lated by Aug. Oldekop from the Russian ; St. Pe- 
tersburg, byBriefT,and Leipsic by C. Cnobloch, 1830, 
4 vols, price 5 florins 51 kr. Another imitation of 
this romance bears the title, The Strange and Ro- 
mantic History of Iwan Wischyghin, or The Rus- 
sian Gil Bias, by Th. Bulgarin ; translated into Ger- 
man by A. Kaiser, Leipsic, 1830, by Nauck, 3 parts, 
in 12mo. 2. He published Dimitrj Samoswanez, 
that is, The False Demetrius; St. Petersburg, 1830, 
4 vols. 8vo. 3. Peter Iwanowitsch, a picture of 
Russian character, as a continuation of his Iwan 
Wischyghin, or Russian Gil Bias ; translated by F. 
Stork, Leipsic, 1834, 3 vols. 8vo. : translated into 
French also, and published at Paris, in 4 vols. 
12mo. 

Bunina (Anna Petrowna), an important member 
of the Society of the Friends of the Russian Lan- 
guage. She occupies an elevated position in the 
list of Russian writers, and the first among the 
authoresses of Russia. She has principally distin- 
guished herself by didactic and lyrical poems. A 
complete collection of them, under the title of 
A Collection of the Poems of Anna Bunina, was 
printed in three parts at St. Petersburg, in 1821. In 
1806 she published the Rules for Russian Poetry, 
for young women, from the Abbe Batteux. The 
Fall of Phaeton, in particular, as A. Bestuscheff 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 1 15 

remarks, exhibits great elegance and variety of 
conception. 

Burinskj (Sachar, or Zacharias, Alexijewitsch), 
M.A. and under-librarian in the Moscow University, 
died in Moscow in 1808, aged twenty years. He left 
behind him some beautiful poems ; amongst others, 
Praises of a Country Life, imitated from the Geor- 
gics of Virgil. He made some other translations. 

Burzeff (Wassilj), secretary to the Patriarch 
Filaret at Moscow, was the author of an ABC book 
of the Sclavonic language, i. e. fundamental rudi- 
ments for the instruction of children, who wished 
to improve themselves by the reading of the Holy 
Scriptures, together with prayers, the ten com- 
mandments of Moses, and a series of short ques- 
tions on the creeds. This ABC book was printed 
four times at Moscow, viz. in the years 1637, 1657, 
1664, and 1698. 

Bushinskj. See Gabriel. 

Busslajeff (Peter), was deacon at the cathedral 
church of the Ascension in Moscow, and wrote a 
poem in two cantos, by the title, A Spiritual Essay, 
in verse, upon the Departure of her Excellence the 
Baroness Maria Jakowlewna Strogonoff into Eter- 
nal Life. Printed, with notes by the author, at St. 
Petersburg, 1734. In this poem some fine thoughts 
are not wanting, and there are some brilliant pas- 
sages. The notes show that the author was well 
acquainted with the classical writers of antiquity. 

Buturlin (Dmitrj Petrowitsch), aidecamp to the 
Emperor Alexander I., a colonel, and knight of nu- 
merous orders. Born at St. Petersburg in the year 
1790; in 1808 entered the Achtirshian regiment of 

i, 



146 A LEXICON OF 

hussars as cornet. In 1809 served in the campaign 
against the Austrians. In 1810 was moved into 
the regiment of horse-guards, and at the begin- 
ning of 1812 placed upon the staff. In the course 
of those memorable military proceedings he was at 
first attached to the head-quarters of Prince Bagra- 
tion, afterwards to the advanced guard of General 
WassiltschikofT, and at the end of the same year he 
again changed into the regiment of horse-guards. 
In 1817 he was made adjutant, and in 1819 a colo- 
nel. Buturlin occupied himself with the study of 
military history in general, and especially that of 
his own country. In 1810 he published An Ac- 
count of the Campaign of Suwarroff in Italy in the 
year 1799, Relation de la Campagne en Italie, at St. 
Petersburg. This work, in spite of its deficiencies 
in point of style, attracted the favourable notice of 
General Moreau. In 1815 his Narrative of the 
Campaign of 1813 in Germany, Tableau de la 
Campagne de 1813 en Allemagne, was printed in 
Paris. This book, which was ascribed to one of 
the first military writers in Europe, was published 
again in a third edition in 1820. In 1817 his work 
called A Description of the Events of the late War 
in Spain, Precis des Evenemens militaires de la der- 
niere guerre en Espagne, appeared at St. Peters- 
burg. In 1820 he finished his History of Napo- 
leon's Invasion of Russia. This book we believe 
was printed some years back in Paris. The grand 
performance of Buturlin consists in the composition 
of A History of the Military Movements of the 
Russians in the eighteenth century. The first di- 
vision of this, comprising four volumes, and illus- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. ] 17 

trated with numerous charts and plans, appeared at 
St. Petersburg in 1820, in the Russian language. In 
it are to be found accurate accounts of the cam- 
paigns of Peter the Great. The manuscript of this 
work extends to the Seven Years' War. Herr. Bu- 
turlin, after having won the applause of all the 
most eminent writers on military affairs in Europe, 
has drawn upon himself and his country the re- 
proachful inquiry, why he wrote most of his works 
in the French language ? This reproach is in part 
merited perhaps, but he may plead custom as his 
excuse ; and as his justification, that his works 
being written in this form, help to spread the glory 
of Russia into other lands. 



C. 

Chemnizer (Iwan Iwanowitsch) collegiate coun- 
cillor, member of the Russian Academy, was born 
in the year 1744. His father, by birth a Saxon, was 
director of the Provincial Hospital at St. Petersburg, 
and an upright, disinterested man. He was anxious 
that his son should embrace the medical profession, 
but could not conquer his aversion for anatomical 
operations; and at last, in the year 1755, found 
himself compelled to let him enter the military 
service. Young Chemnizer went through the Prus- 
sian and Turkish campaigns in this capacity, but 
finding, as he says himself, that he in this way had 
only exchanged the dissecting room for a much 
wider anatomical theatre, he left the army, and 
from having been lieutenant became superinten- 

l2 



148 A LEXICON OF 

dant of the cabins of the Mining Cadet Corps. In 
this new office he soon won the regard and esteem 
of his superiors. In 1776 he made a journey with 
some of his kind patrons through Germany, France, 
and Holland, and on his return resumed his former 
situation once more. In 1781 he took his leave on 
being appointed collegiate councillor, but in 1784 
was sent out as consul general to Smyrna. His 
health suffered, however, considerably from ~the 
change of climate, and on account of his wide se- 
paration from his friends. He fell into a state of 
melancholy, and died on the 20th of March, 1784. 
Unbending integrity, goodness of heart, modesty, 
industry, devotedness to his official duties, were 
the distinguished characteristics of his nature. 
An over-confidence in other people, and extreme 
absence of mind, make him resemble his pro- 
totype La Fontaine. Chemnizer has immorta- 
lised himself by his Fables, the principal merit 
of which consists in their simplicity and truth to 
nature. Although in later times DmitrijefT and 
Kriiloff have surpassed him in brilliance of thought, 
in purity of style, and in lightness of versification, 
naivete remains the undisputed property of Chem- 
nizer alone. It is worthy of remark, that his con- 
temporaries, who were nevertheless delighted with 
the not too beautifully written allegories of Suma- 
rokofF, could not appreciate generally Chemnizer's 
talents, and were scarcely acquainted with him. In 
1778 he first published some of his Fables anony- 
mously. In 1781 he had the same reprinted, with 
the addition of a second series, but still without any 
name. In the mean time they remained almost un- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 149 

noticed. A long time after the death of the author, 
a true friend to literature edited the collected fa- 
bles in three parts, and published them with the 
real name of the writer, and a biographical notice 
of him prefixed, by the title, Fables and Tales of J. 
J. Chemnizer; St. Petersburg, 1799. Since that time 
he has become generally known, and has since oc- 
cupied the rank which properly belongs to him 
among the Russian writers. The last edition of 
his Fables was in 1819, in 3 vols, at St. Petersburg. 
Compare Richter's Russian Miscellany, No. V. p. 
139. 

Cherasskoff (Michael Matwejewitsch), acting- 
privy-councillor, member of numerous literary and 
scientific societies, and knight, was born on the 
25th of October, 1 733. His father served in the regi- 
ment of body-guards. Michael Matwejewitsch re- 
ceived his education in the Land Cadet Corps, from 
which he was moved into the army at once as lieu- 
tenant, but soon changed into the civil service. At 
the time of the establishment of the Moscow Univer- 
sity, he was among the number of its most useful 
servants in his capacity of college assessor. In 
1761 he was made imperial councillor, in 1763 
director of the University, in 1770 vice-president 
of the Mining College, and in 1778 curator of the 
University of Moscow, with the dignity of an acting 
councillor of state. He remained in this post till 
the period of his quitting altogether the public ser- 
vice in 1802, and while so occupied received the 
titles of privy-councillor, and acting-privy-council- 
lor, as well as the order of St. Wladimir, 2nd CI., 
and of St. Anne, 1st CI. lie died on the 27th of 



150 A LEXICON OF 

September, 1807, aged 74. His writings are : I. In 
prose : 1. Cadmus and Harmonia, an ancient story, 
two parts, Moscow, 1789. A translation of the 
first book of this is to be found in Richter's Rus- 
sian Miscellany, § ii. 2. Polydorus, the Son of 
Cadmus and Harmonia, three parts, Moscow, 1794. 
3. Numa Pompilius, or Rome in the Bud, Moscow, 
1793. 4. The following dramas: a) The Friend 
of the Unfortunate, in three acts, b) The Perse- 
cuted, in three acts, c) Milona, with music and 
songs, in two acts, d) The School of Valour, in 
five acts, e) Justifiable Jealousy, in three acts. 
II. In verse: 1. The Rossiad, an epic poem, in 
rhyming Alexandrines of six feet, twelve cantos, 
Moscow, 1785; together with a Critical Analysis 
of Epic Poetry. 2. Wladimir, an epic poem, in 
eighteen cantos, Moscow, 1786. Third and im- 
proved edition, 1809. 3. The Pilgrims, or the 
Knights Errant, an entertaining poem, on account 
of its great variety, in six cantos, and in various 
sorts of metre, Moscow, 1795. 4. The Fruits of 
Science, a didactic poem, in three cantos, Moscow, 
first edition, 1761. 5. The Universe, in three 
books. 6. The Battle of Tchesme, a poem, in five 
cantos, printed by the Imperial Academy of Sciences 
in July, 1771, containing fifty-seven pages in 8vo. ; 
of this a French translation appeared in 1772, and 
a German one in 1773. 7. The Czar, or Novogo- 
rod delivered, a poetical narrative, in seven cantos, 
Moscow, 1800. 8. Bachariana (The Forge of Lies) 
or The Unknown, a story of enchantment, derived 
from the old Russian Mahrchen or Traditions, in 
fourteen cantos in various metres, Moscow, 1803. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 151 

9. Selim and Selima, a short poem, St. Petersburg, 
1770. 10. The following tragedies: a) The Ve- 
netian Nun, in three acts, 1758. b) Marthesia and 
Phalestra, in five acts, 1765. c) Borislaff, in five 
acts, 1774. d) The Cid, in imitation of Corneille, 
in five acts, e) Julian the Apostate, in five acts. 
/) The Deliverance of Moscow, in five acts, &c. 
1 1 . A comedy called The Man-Hater, in five acts, 
1770. 12. Various Panegyrics, and Festival Odes, 
twenty-one in number. 13. Five odes and reli- 
gious poems. 14. Anacreontic odes, sixty-five in 
number. 15. Moral odes, sixty-two in number. 
From this enumeration it will be evident to the 
reader that Cheraskoff belongs to the number of 
the most prolific writers : but impartial posterity, 
who will allow every praise due to his industry, his 
learning, and his taste, will hesitate before it con- 
fers upon him unconditionally the high name of 
poet. The most distinguished of his productions 
are The Pvossiad, and Wladimir. The subject of 
the Rossiad is the complete subjugation of the Ta- 
tars under John Wassiljewitsch the Second, and the 
re-conquest of Kasan. " And because," as the author 
himself says, " the tranquillity of Russia, her glory, 
and her prosperity, and the great actions, not of the 
Czar alone, but of the Ptussian warriors in general, 
and in short, not the good fortune of one man, but 
the good of the whole community is the moral theme 
of this poem, therefore is it called the Rossiad." Com- 
pare Richter's Ptussian Miscellany, § i. in which is to 
be found a translation of the whole of the first canto. 
Ciiilkoit (Prince Andrcj Jakowlewitsch) Sstol- 



152 A LEXICON OF 

nik s to Peter the Great, was sent in the year 1700 
as ambassador to Sweden. In the beginning king 
Charles the Twelfth received him with marked fa- 
vour, but after the breaking out of the war between 
Russia and Sweden, he was put in arrest, in com- 
mon with all the Russians, about a hundred in num- 
ber, who were found in Sweden at the time, and 
died, without having survived his captivity, at Wes- 
terns, on the 18th of October, 1718. His body was 
afterwards conveyed to St. Petersburg, and depo- 
sited in the Newskj monastery. In his captivity he 
wrote The Chief Substance of Russian History from 
the oldest times to those of Peter the Great ; to 
whom he also dedicated his work from Westerns, 
April 7th, 1715. This Substance of Russian His- 
tory, edited by Muller, and printed at the imperial 
University of Moscow, at the cost of the bookseller 
and university bookbinder, Chr. Rudiger, in 1770, 
was introduced into the Russian schools ; but only 
for the want of some better Manual of the same 
kind. For it displays little historical criticism, much 
partiality, and a difficult and unequal style. It is 
asserted by some, that it was not Prince Chilkoff 
himself, but his secretary, who really wrote the 
book. 

Chmelnizkj (Nikolai Iwanowitsch), councillor of 
state and knight, was born at St. Petersburg in 
the year 1791. He received his first instructions 
under the superintendence of his own relation, who 

8 Sstolnik was the name used in those times for a high officer of the court, 
who resided in the palace of the Czar, and presided over the arrangement 
of the Czar's tabic. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 153 

was known to the literary world through various 
publications, the acting councillor of state, N. F. 
Erain. After this he perfected his education in the 
Mining Cadet Corps, In 1S0S he was placed as 
translator at the College of the Foreign Department, 
by desire of the Emperor, to co-operate with Count 
Bukshowden, the commander-in-chief of the army 
of Finland, in the task of interpreting and arrang- 
ing the foreign correspondence. In 1811 he was 
moved into the Department of the Minister of Jus- 
tice. In 1 812 he entered the army of St. Petersburg, 
and acted as aidecamp to the late general field-mar- 
shal Prince Kutusoff. In the campaign of 1813 
he served under general Oppermann, chief of the 
staff of the then existing Polish army. At the con- 
clusion of the war, he returned again to his former 
occupation. From the year 1818 he became go- 
vernor-general of St. Petersburg. Herr Chmel- 
nizkj has distinguished himself most particularly 
by his dramatic works. Of his translations and 
imitations the following are the best deserving of 
notice. 1 . Selmira, a tragedy, in five acts ; ren- 
dered into metre from the French, in 1811, which 
was his first attempt at dramatic poetry. 2. The 
Gossip, a comedy, in one act, in verse, after Boissy. 
This translation may be cited as a first-rate per- 
formance. 3. The School for Wives, a comedy, in 
five acts. In imitation of Moliere. 4. The Follies 
of the Greeks, or Iphigenia in Tauris reversed ; a 
vaudeville-parody, in three acts, in imitation of Fa- 
var. 5. Marriages are made in Heaven, or, No 
Evil without some Good ; a vaudeville, in one act. 
(>. Castles in the Air, a comedy, in one act; in 



154 A LEXICON OF 

metre, after Collin d'Harleville ; and many others. 
The original compositions of Herr Chmelnizkj are 
the following: 1. Seven Holidays in the Week, or 
The Irresolute Man ; a comedy, in one act, in 
verse. 2. Quarantine ; a vaudeville, in one act. 3. 
The Players among Themselves, or The First Ap- 
pearance of the Actress Trojepolskaja; a vaudeville, 
in one act. This last vaudeville was written by 
Chmelnizkj in conjunction with Herr N. W. Wse- 
woloschkj. All these pieces have been represented 
on the boards of the St. Petersburg theatre. Only 
two of the comedies however are in print, viz. The 
Gossip, St. Petersburg, 1817: and Castles in the 
Air, 1819. 

Chomjakoff. See Alexander Puschkin. 

Chrapowizkj (Alexander Wassiljewitsch), began 
service in 1756. In 1782 he was secretary of state 
and of the cabinet to the Empress, and occupied 
himself with the amusements of literature. He 
wrote the tragedy of Idamant ; the opera Melo- 
mania ; and a multitude of smaller poems. In the 
year 1793 he was chosen into the senate. He died 
on the 29th of December, 1801. 

Chwostoff (Count Dmitrj Iwanowitsch), acting 
privy-councillor, senator, and knight, a member 
of the Prussian Academy, and many other learned 
societies; was born on the 19th of July, 1757, at 
St. Petersburg ; and educated at Moscow, in the 
private school of professor Liitke, afterwards at the 
Moscow University, and lastly, under the parental 
roof. He commenced service by entering the 
guards in 1772. In 1777 he was raised from being 
second lieutenant of the guards to be at the head 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 155 

of the commissariat, and in 1783 was named an 
imperial councillor. In 1788 he served under Su- 
warroff, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 
1 795 he was appointed chamberlain; in 1797 upper 
procurator of the senate; and in 1799 he was ap- 
pointed in the same capacity to the Holy Synod, 
and received the order of St. Anne, first class. In 
the year 1800 he found himself made privy-coun- 
cillor; in 1802 permission was given him to adopt 
the title of a Sardinian count ; and in 1807 he ob- 
tained leave to take up his residence at the senate- 
house. Count Dmitrj Iwanowitsch began in the 
year 1779 to write poetry, and continued through- 
out to cultivate the muses in every department of 
verse with unabated ardour. In his youth he wrote 
comedies in prose and verse ; later, however, lyri- 
cal and didactic poetry, and translations from the 
French classical poets, formed the chief object of 
his studies. It is difficult to decide in what branch 
he is most successful ; his odes, however, must se- 
cure to him incontestible laurels. A complete col- 
lection of the works and translations which he 
achieved appeared at St. Petersburg in 1817, in 4 
vols. In the first volume are contained his lyrical 
poems ; in the second, epistles ; in the third, alle- 
gories ; and in the fourth, translations — as The Art 
of Poetry, of Boileau ; and the Andromache, of Ra- 
cine, with many notes of different critics, and of 
the translator himself. A new edition of the works 
of Count Dmitrj Iwanowitsch has lately been pre- 
pared, which is to contain all the poems written by 
him since the year 1817. At the beginning of the 



156 A LEXICON OF 

year 1830, this veteran of the Russian Parnassus 
presented a poem, On the Peace of Adrianople, to 
the imperial field-marshal Count Diebitsch Sabal- 
kanskj. Numerous Russian and foreign societies 
have elected this writer into the number of their 
members. Many of his poems have been trans- 
lated into foreign languages. Impartial critics, in 
foreign as well as domestic journals, have set a 
high value on his works, and promised him a 
literary immortality. Chwostoff died at the end of 
the year 1835. 

Cyprian ; metropolitan of KiefT, and of all Rus- 
sia, by birth a Servian, was consecrated to this dig- 
nity at Constantinople in 1376. After this, he 
came to Kieff, received from the Grand Prince 
Dmitrj Iwanowitsch a summons to Moscow, and 
died in 1406. This ecclesiastic, a learned and pious 
man, may be denominated as the first restorer of 
lost enlightenment in Russia. He brought to Rus- 
sia numerous translations of different church-books, 
which had been preserved among the Sclavonic 
tribes dwelling on the banks of the Danube, and 
hence resulted the introduction of several Ser- 
vian expressions into the Russian language. Al- 
most all the most important manuscripts of these 
works, which have descended to our own time, be- 
long to the age of Cyprian. He selected for his re- 
sidence a property of his own at Golenischtschewo, 
not far from Moscow, between the rivers Setuna 
and Ramenka, and occupied himself there in the 
composition and translation of ecclesiastical works, 
and in the collection and compilation of the Rus- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 157 

sian laws. Of his works, two have been preserved 
in the Stufen-biicher 1 , or step-books: viz. The 
Life of the Metropolitan Peter : and A Farewell 
Discourse, which he wrote four days before his 
death, and which was read, according to his desire, 
over his grave at his funeral. Some annalists have 
ascribed to him the Stufen-biicher, but this has by- 
no means been proved. 

Cyril (St.), bishop of Turow, lived in the time 
of the Grand Prince Andrej Bogolubskj, surnamed 
the Fearer of God, who died in A. D. 1174, and 
with him maintained the most intimate relations. 
He left behind him some fine discourses, sermons, 
and charges. Herr Kalaidowitsch found them in 
different libraries, and superintended the publica- 
tion of them at Moscow, in a book which bears 
the title, Memorials of Russian Literature in the 
Twelfth Century, published at the expense of Count 
N. P. Rumanzoffin 1821. 

Cyril, metropolitan of Kieff and all Russia, a 
Russian by birth, was consecrated at Nicsea in 1255, 
and died in 1281, at Susdal, or Peresslawl-Salesskj. 
After the conquest and overthrow of Kieff by Batu, 
he retired from Kieff to Wladimir, on the Kliiisma, 
which was then the residence of the Grand Princes. 
In 1274 he called together at Wladimir an assem- 
bly of the church, at which were drawn up Twelve 
Instructions relative to the State of the Church, 
and for the Improvement of the Clergy. These in- 
structions are printed in the first part of the Rus- 

1 The Stufcn-biiclier contain the genealogy of the Russian monarclis 
from Rurik to John Wassiljewitsch, and derive their name from the cir- 
cumstance of their embracing seventeen steps or 'degrees of descent. 



158 A LEXICON OF 

sian Memorabilia. Of his writings, only those ad- 
dresses have been preserved which he delivered at 
the opening and closing of this council of the 
church, and which are distinguished by their power- 
ful feeling and eloquence. 

Cyril (Tranquillion), a hieromonach (see ap- 
pendix) and preacher at the subterranean monas- 
tery at Kieff; was afterwards archimandrite at 
Tschernigow, and wrote many ecclesiastical works, 
as sermons, panegyrical discourses, etc. On the 
language and style of this preacher, some sensible 
criticisms may be met with in the essay of Herr 
Katschenofskj, called, A Glance at the Progress of 
Russian Eloquence, which is to be found printed 
in the first part of Von Gretsch's Manual of Rus- 
sian Eloquence, p. 380 ; (see Katschenofskj). 

Cyriloff (Iwan), upper secretary to the senate, 
and councillor of state; although born in very hum- 
ble condition, attracted the notice of Peter the 
Great, and was at first employed in the chancery 
office of the senate-house. By his natural taste for 
mathematics, and natural history, he was led to 
collect geographical information respecting the Rus- 
sian dominions, and afterwards prepared from them 
a Russian atlas, with a general chart, which was 
printed by himself in 1734, and which was besides 
published by the Academy of Sciences in 1745. At 
his suggestion two expeditions were sent out — the 
scientific expedition to Kamschatka, and the com- 
mercial expedition to Orenburg. In the latter he 
himself took a part (in 1734), and laid the first plan 
of the outline of Orenburg. He died in ] 738, at 
Samara. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 159 

D. 

Daniel, a Russian igumen (see appendix), pro- 
bably born at Tschernigow, made, in the beginning 
of the twelfth century, a journey through Constan- 
tinople and the Archipelago, to Palestine; and after 
having lived there for sixteen months, wrote a de- 
scription of the Holy Land, as it was in those times. 
Manuscript copies of this journey, under the title 
of The Travels of the Russian Abbot Daniel, are 
preserved in the library of the cathedral of St. So- 
phia, at Novogorod ; but notwithstanding that it 
so much deserves it, it has not yet appeared in 
print. His style has great similarity to that of 
Nestor. 

Daniloff (Kirscha u ), an author as well as com- 
piler of Russian history ; born at Kieff, and as to 
his condition in life a cossack, served in Siberia at 
the beginning of the eighteenth century. The his- 
tories collected, and in part composed by him, were 
published for the first time at Moscow, in 1804, 
and again with considerable additions, at the ex- 
pense of the chancellor of the empire, Count Ru- 
manzofF, at the same place in 1818. Daniloff, who 
was a contemporary of Peter the Great, appears to 
have borrowed the subjects of most of his poems 
from old national and traditionary songs, which he 
altered to suit his purpose. These ancient Russian 
poems are for the most part filled with the deeds 
of Wladimir the Great, and his famous heroes ; as 
for instance, Dobryna, Nikititsch, Ilja Muromez 

" Kirscha is a Russian diminutive of Cyril. 



160 A LEXICON OF 

(see Kriiloff), Iwanowitsch, Aljoscha, Popowitsch, 
and others. Von Basse's Wladimir, and his Tafel- 
Runde, or Round Table, Leipsic, 1819, 8vo., are 
most likely taken from these old Russian poems of 
DanilofF. Compare article L'woff. 

Danilowitsch (Gerassim), composed an Intro- 
duction on the Use, Importance, and Sacredness of 
the Holy Scriptures, to be prefixed to the Ostrogian 
edition of the Sclavonic Bible, in 158 IT Together 
with this introduction, his Slavonic verses, written 
in the syllabic metre, have been printed. 

Daschkowa (Princess Katherina Romanowna), 
originally Countess of Woronzoff, was born in 1744, 
married in her fifteenth year, and was a widow in 
her eighteenth. In 1762 she received the appoint- 
ment of lady of state, and was presented with the 
order of St. Catherine. The sciences and belles- 
lettres were her favourite occupations. In 1782 she 
was made directress of the Academy of Sciences, and 
in the following year, at the institution of the Rus- 
sian Academy, she was named its president. Nu- 
merous learned societies, both Russian and foreign, 
adopted her as a member of their body. Her 
numerous writings, both in prose and verse, are 
printed in the following journals : The Innocent 
Pastime, in the year 1763; and A Companion 
for the Friends of the Russian Language, in 
1783. She took part in the preparation of the 
Dictionary of the Russian Academy, and contributed 
greatly to the completion and publication of that 
useful work. Besides this, she wrote the comedy 
Toissiokoff; and the drama, The Marriage of Fa- 
bian, or Avarice Punished. In 1796 she gave up 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 1G1 

the offices which she had held, and died in 1810, 
at Moscow. 

Daw'udoff (Deniss Wassiljewitsch), a major-ge- 
neral, and knight, was born at Moscow on the 
16th of July, 1784, and educated under the pa- 
rental roof. In his earliest days he gave evidence 
of a leaning towards the military profession, and 
this inclination was increased in the year 1793 by 
the unexpected attention shown to him by Count 
SuwarrofF-Rimniskj, who at a review of the light ca- 
valry regiment of Poltawa, which happened at the 
time to be commanded by Dawiidoff, the father, 
remarked the spirited boy, and making the sign of 
the cross upon him, said, " Thou wilt one day win 
three glorious battles." In the year 1801 he com- 
menced service in the regiment of horse-guards, 
and after he was promoted to the rank of major- 
general (1815) occupied a variety of posts in the 
army, and was engaged in almost all the campaigns 
in which Russia took part, from the year 1 805. Thus 
in 1808 he made the campaign of Finland, in the 
advanced guard of the celebrated Kuljneff; in 1809 
he served in the army stationed on the other side 
of the Danube,under Prince Bagration; and in 1810 
he was again one of Kuljneff's advanced guard. 
Under the command of this distinguished warrior, 
he finished the course of service in the advanced 
and out-posts, which he had already begun in Fin- 
land. In the Russian campaign of 1812, he com- 
manded as far as Borodino the first battalion of the 
Achtirschian regiment of hussars, and first drew at- 
tention to the advantages to be derived from send- 
ing out detatched parties in different directions. 

M 



162 A LEXICON OF 

After this, he was himself sent out with 130 cos- 
sacks, moved about with them for ten days, and 
being reinforced by 600 more cossacks, engaged 
several times with the enemy in the neighbourhood 
of Wasma, shared the glory of Count Orloff-De- 
nissoff, captured a cavalry depot 3000 men strong, 
and extended his excursions as far as the banks 
of the Niemen. At Grodno he surprised a 
strong detachment of 4000 men, sent from Hun- 
gary under the command of general Frohlich, and 
took that town. In Germany he first got posses- 
sion of one half of the town of Dresden, which 
was defended by the corps of Marshal Davoust, 
and continued his operations as far as the banks of 
the Rhine. In France he commanded in Blucher's 
army the regiment of Achtirschian hussars, and after 
one engagement, in which all the generals of the 
second, now the third, division of hussars, had been 
either killed or wounded, he commanded as colonel 
for two days the entire division. After this, he 
took the command of a brigade of hussars, and 
marched with it through Paris. Dawudoff had al- 
ready in his earliest years, before he became a sol- 
dier, felt a strong predilection for poetry. The 
Aonides, a collection of poems published by Ka- 
ramsin, had produced a peculiar effect upon him. 
At that time he first began to write verses, and 
even through the stormy times which ensued, he 
did not relinquish the practice. Amid the whizzing 
of bullets, the thunder of cannon, and the flashing 
of sabres, he still brought offerings to his gentle 
muse. A number of beautiful elegies, songs, epis- 
tles, and small poems, display intelligence, feeling, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 1G3 

taste, and a rare talent for poetry. The praise of 
military achievements, and the joyous refreshment 
of love and friendship in arms, form the subject of 
the greater part of his poetical works. Some of 
these have been printed in different journals, most 
of them however continue still to be circulated only 
in manuscript. Like all poets of real talent, he 
has drawn after him a crowd of copyists, who in 
part plagiarise and in part imitate his poems. In 
the Memorials of the Country, a work edited and 
published by Herr Swinjin, is to be found his descrip- 
tion of the partisan excursions which he made in 
1812. Afterwards he occupied himself with a 
Theory of Partisan, or Detached, Movements in 
War. 

Delwig (Baron), editor of the Pocket Annual 
called Flowers of the North, St. Petersburg, 1826. 
It contains the first attempt at a history of the fine 
arts in Russia. See Tappe's German work on the 
History of Ptussia, taken from that by Karamsin, 
vol. I. p. 352, where there is to be found a short 
account of the contents of this Pocket Annual. 

Dershawin (Gabriel Romanowitsch), acting pri- 
vy councillor, and knight of several orders, mem- 
ber of almost all the learned and scientific societies 
in Russia, was born on the 3rd of July, 1 743, in 
Kasan. He received the first rudiments of educa- 
tion in his parents' house, and in private schools, 
but was afterwards at the Gymnasium of Kasan. 
In 1760 he was admitted into the Engineer Corps, 
and in 1761, on account of his great progress in 
mathematics and drawing, as well as of his descrip- 
tion of the Bulgarian ruins on the Wolga, he was 

m 2 



164 A LEXICON OF 

placed as soldier in the regiment of the Preobra- 
shenskj-guard. From the year 1762 forwards, he 
ran through all the degrees of inferior military ser- 
vice, and in 1772 he was promoted to the rank of 
ensign in the guards. In 1774 he became lieute- 
nant, and distinguished himself, in the expedition 
on which he was sent to take prisoner the insur- 
gent Pugatscheff, by his prudence and spirit. In 
1777 he was appointed a collegiate councillor, and 
executor x in the first department of the senate. 
In 1779 he was engaged in the office for expedit- 
ing the collection of the revenues of the empire. 
In 1782 he became a councillor of state, in 1784 
an acting councillor of state, and governor, first of 
Olonez and afterwards of Tambow. In 1791 the 
Empress Catherine selected him to be her secretary 
of state. In 1793 he was promoted to the dignity 
of being privy councillor and senator, and in 1794 
he was chosen president of the College of Com- 
merce. In 1800 he was appointed imperial trea- 
surer, with the dignity of acting privy councillor ; 
having given up this appointment in 1801, he was 
made, in 1802, minister of justice; and in 1803 pen- 
sioned with the amount of his entire salary, and an 
allowance for his table besides. He died on the 
6th of July, 1816, at his landed estate Swanka, 
on the Wolchow, in the governmental department 
of Novogorod. Dershawin wrote lyrical, didactic, 
and dramatic poetry. His collected works were 
published at St. Petersburg in 1S10, in four parts ; a 

" Executor. — This is the term used for the person in a tribunal or 
court, who has the superintendence of the interior arrangements, and of 
the officers and servants connected with it. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 165 

fifth part was added in 1815. He occupies the 
first place arrfong the poets of Catherine's time, 
and may be fairly ranked on an equality with the 
most distinguished lyrical poets of all nations. Of 
his numerous poems it will be sufficient to name 
here, The Odes to God, To Felix, On the Birth of 
the Emperor Alexander, On the Death of Mescht- 
scherskj, On the Conclusion of Peace with Sweden, 
The Fountain, The Waterfall, The Autumn, his 
Anacreontic Songs, and so forth y . Of his prose 
w r orks, independently of his official labours, the 
following are best known : 1. A Discourse, deli- 
vered before the Nobles of Kasan, to the Empress 
Catherine. 2. A Topographical Account of the 
Government of Tambow. 3. A Discourse on the 
Opening of the Normal School at Tambow, which 
last was delivered on the 22nd of September, 1786, 
and in the same year printed in several foreign 
languages, at St. Petersburg. 4. A Treatise on 
Lyrical Poetry, which is inserted as the fourteenth 
Lecture in the second book of the Lectures for the 
Society of the Friends of the Russian Language ; 
printed at St. Petersburg, 1811. An excellent cha- 
racter of Dershawin has been written by a poet 
(Prince Wasemskj) who knows how to appreciate 
the talents and merit of the poet. Herr Merslii- 
koffs critique upon him deserves especial notice, 
in which, from other passages, we may select the 
following : " Among the immortal memorials of 
the age of Catherine, the poems of Dershawin may 
without dispute claim place." His song will con- 

I lompare thi al articli < >s< rofl 



166 A LEXICON OF 

tinue to be dear to the Russians, so long as they 
treasure the glory of a Catherine herself, or that of 
a Rumanzoff, an Orloff, a Suwarrow, or other dis- 
tinguished men of the time. Perhaps it may be 
said of Dershawin, as Quintilian says of Ovid, that 
he was, Nimius sui ingenii amator. He appears 
sometimes to have allowed himself to be carried 
away by the power of his own imagination. His 
pictures are clear and lively, but not always ar- 
ranged by a delicate hand, nor always in keep- 
ing, and in perfect harmony. Many of his odes, 
nevertheless, exhibit a perfect model of purity 
and regularity. He wrote sacred, heroic, and ana- 
creontic odes. In all the works of Dershawin are 
to be found new words of his own coining, which 
are particularly sweet in their effect in his own 
verses, but very ridiculous in those of his imitators. 
He incorporated anew a number of sonorous and 
peculiar Russian words which had fallen into dis- 
use, or which had been regarded as unfit for poetry, 
but which, however, give a characteristic freshness 
to the poems in which he has used them. " Lomo- 
nossoff is always the slave of his subject; Der- 
shawin treats it just as it may suit his fancy. The 
former, still resembles himself in all his flights; 
the latter, falls, like the lightning's flash, di- 
rectly down on the point he chooses ; and with a 
rapidity which the reader is not always able easily 
to follow. The one may be compared to a majes- 
tic river, which flows tranquilly along between its 
sloping banks ; the other resembles rather the wa- 
terfall, which he himself has so beautifully described, 
which dashes its towering waves through the chan- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 1G7 

nel of conflicting rocks, and lends to the otherwise 
peaceful aspect of nature a wildness and a spell. 
Lomonossoff is in point of style pure, rounded, 
careful, and consistent ; Dershawin florid, various, 
and luxuriant. He elevates the spirit of his reader, 
and at every minute displays the power and rich- 
ness of his own." " In the flights of inspiration 

of the most exalted order," says Bestuscheff of this 
writer, " Dershawin attained to a height which no 
one had ventured to aim at before his time. At 
once a lyrical poet and a philosopher, he possessed 
the art of placing the truth before princes with 
an unembarrassed countenance, and discovered 
the secret of exalting the sentiment and fasci- 
nating the hearts of his readers, at one moment 
by his depth of feeling and sublimity of expression, 
at the next by the glowing colours of his sketches. 
His muse, however, not seldom overleaps the 
strict rules of language in her ecstatic flights, and 
in the midst of a thousand beauties a few faults 
have stolen in." In the decline of life Dershawin 
wrote much that was weak and unworthy of him, 
yet even here the sparks of genius may be seen to 
scintillate, and not only the present generation, but 
posterity, must ever wonder at the giant talents of 
the Russian Pindar, the bard of the Odes to God, 
The Waterfall, and others." Specimens of his 
poetry in the German language may be found in 
Borg's Poetical Illustrations of the Russian Nation. 
Bowling's "Russian Anthology gives many other 
specimens in English. His poems also appeared 
in four volumes in the English language in 1S0S. 
His Ode to God has been translated into Latin and 



168 A LEXICON OF 

Chinese, and printed by order of the Emperor of 
China in gold letters on silk paper, and hung up in 
a hall of the Imperial Palace. 

Dessnizkj (Semen Jefimowitsch), professor of 
the Roman and Russian Laws, and member of the 
Russian Academy, studied first at the Moscow, and 
afterwards at the Glasgow University. In 1768 he 
was made extraordinary, and in 1773 ordinary pro- 
fessor of laws. In 1787 he took his leave of the 
University, and died in 1789. This professor de- 
serves the gratitude of posterity for having first in- 
troduced in Russia the practice of lecturing on 
Russian jurisprudence, which he commenced in 
1783 ; and for having thereby contributed much to 
the improvement of the nobility in information on 
this subject, and prepared them for entering with 
greater fitness upon their offices in the service of 
the state. At the express desire of the crown he 
undertook the translation of Blackstone's Commen- 
taries on the English Law into Russian, (three 
parts, Moscow, 1780-1782,) and wrote originally 
many Essays, Lectures, and Treatises. 

Dessnizkj. See Michael. 

Destuniss (Spiridon Jurjewitsch), collegiate coun- 
cillor and knight, consul general at Smyrna, was 
born in 1783, in the island of Corfu, studied first 
of all at his native town, and afterwards at the 
University of Moscow. He conferred a great boon 
upon Russian literature by his translation of Plu- 
tarch's Lives of Illustrious Persons, accompanied 
by historical and critical notices of his own, which 
was published at St. Petersburg in the years 1814- 
1820, in 13 vols. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 1G9 

Dimitrj (St. baptized by the name of Daniel), 
metropolitan of Rostow, was born in 1651, at the 
little town of Makarow, in the neighbourhood of 
KiefT, where his father, named Saffa Tuptalo, was 
chieftain. He received his education at the mo- 
nastery of the Manifestation of Christ at KiefF, and 
in his eighteenth year took holy orders. In 1669 
he was consecrated a hieromonach (see Appendix), 
and appointed preacher at the cathedral of Tscher- 
nigow. He discharged his duties there with infi- 
nite credit, visited many of the towns of Little 
Russia and Lithuania, and by his talents and infor- 
mation obtained in a short time the highest re- 
nown. In 1684 he was commissioned by Warlaam 
Jassinskj, archimandrite of the Subterranean Mo- 
nastery at Kieff, to assist in the collection and im- 
provement of The Legends of the Saints, a work 
which his predecessors, Peter Mogila and Inokentj 
Gisel, had not succeeded in completing. Dimitrj 
used in the compilation of these books the Greek 
Biographies of the Saints by Simeon Metaphrast, a 
number of historical writers of the eastern and 
western empires, and the great work on the Le- 
gends of the Saints, Tschetj Mhiei, (see Appendix) 
of the metropolitan Makar. In 1689 he made a 
journey to Moscow in company with the hetmann 
of Little Russia, I wan Mazeppa ; was presented to 
the Czars John and Peter Alexijewitsch, and to the 
Czarina Sophia Alexijewna, and there was re-ani- 
mated by the encouragement of the Patriarch Joa- 
chim to complete the work in which he had em- 
barked. In 1689 he finished the first part of The 
Legends of the Saints; the second part in 1695; 



170 A LEXICON OF 

the third part in 1699 ; and the last part in 1705 : 
all of which, as they were severally completed, 
were immediately put to press. During this inter- 
val Dimitrj saw himself promoted, first to the ar- 
chimandrite of the Monastery of the Ascension at 
Tschernigow, and afterwards of the Subterranean 
Monastery at Novogorod-Sawersk. It 1701 Peter 
the Great summoned him to Moscow, and ap- 
pointed him archimandrite of Tobolsk and Siberia ; 
but Dimitrj, through dread of that severe climate, 
preferred retaining his eparchy at Moscow. In 
1702 he was made metropolitan of Rostow and Ja- 
rosslaw, and from that time forth he continued to 
reside at Rostow. His spiritual administration of 
this province was wise and beneficent. He ex- 
horted his clergy by pastoral letters to the sedulous 
fulfilment of their duties, founded a seminary at 
Rostow, held there lectures himself, and endea- 
voured, by the employment of gentle Christian 
means to root out the destructive heresy of the 
Rasskolniks 2 , who kept themselves concealed in 
the Briinskischian forests. With this end in view 
he composed his work called, A Close Inquiry 
into the Creed of the Briinskischian Rasskolniks, 
and sent 'copies of it into all the eparchies. Be- 
sides this he wrote sermons for the people, com- 
posed many exhortations and reflections, and com- 
piled a sort of Biblical History, under the title of 



z Rasskolniks, i. e. The followers of the old faith, or dissidents, who 
separated themselves from the government of the established church, be- 
cause they would not embrace the improvements of the ancient Sclavonic 
books of the church, which were introduced A.D. 1606. They after- 
wards branched out into several minor sects. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 171 

Chronicles. The metropolitan Dimitrj died at Ros- 
tow on the 28th of October, 1709. In 1752 his bones 
were found in perfect preservation, and the Russian 
church reckoned him among the number of her 
saints. The most important works of this holy 
man are the following: 1. Tschetj Minei, or Bio- 
graphies of the Saints who are esteemed worthy of 
reverence by the Russian-Greek Church, in four 
parts, divided into the order of the twelve months, 
in folio. This was several times printed, both at 
Kieff and Moscow. 2. The Clerical Alphabet, or 
moral exhortations, arranged in alphabetical order. 

3. The Inquiry, that is, a testing by proofs of the 
Briinskischian-Rasskolnik Creed, and of the doc- 
trines and practices of that sect, in three parts. In 
the first part he shows that their profession of faith 
is false ; in the second that their doctrines are de- 
structive to the soul ; and in the third that their 
works must be displeasing to God. The first edi- 
tion of this work came out at Moscow, in 1745. 

4. Chronicles, called by himself Chronicles of the 
Cell. In this work he intended to have illustrated 
the complete Bible Church History, but could not 
proceed beyond 3600 years from the creation of 
the world. This was first printed at Moscow, in 
the year 1784. 5. Lectures for Edification, con- 
sisting of theological tracts, and several minor 
essays, which were in part printed at Moscow, 
(1786 and J 805-1807,) and in part remain still in 
manuscript in the Library of St. Sophia at Novo- 
gorod. St. Dimitrj also composed, during his resi- 
dence in Little Russia, several dramas on sacred 
subjects, in rhyming syllabic metre : as for in- 



172 A LEXICON OF 

stance, The Birth of Christ, The Penitent Sinner, 
Esther and Ahasuerus, The Resurrection of 
Christ. These dramas were represented at his own 
house, and at Ptostow. One of them, Esther and 
Ahasuerus, was once played before the Empress 
Elizabeth Petrowna, at the theatre of the court, 
during the time of Lent 3 . Manuscripts of these 
dramas are to be found in the different libraries. 
Besides these compositions he was the author of a 
number of spiritual songs, psalms, and hymns ; as, 
Lord Jesus, thee I love the best ; On God I build 
my hope, &c, which are well known and in use 
throughout Russia, and for the most part printed. 
This distinguished churchman was adorned with a 
rare depth of learning, and with all the Christian 
virtues. His entire income he gave away to the 
sick and the poor. His works are clear, correct, 
and agreeable to read, and are inimitable specimens 
of the beauty which may be discovered in the Rus- 
sian church-language. 

Dimitrj (Satschenoff), metropolitan of Novogo- 
rod, and president of the Synod, was born on the 
6th of December, 1708, and baptized at the font, 
Daniel. He studied at the Moscow Academy, at 
which he afterwards became a teacher, and after 
entering holy orders, he was appointed archiman- 
drite of the Swijaschian Monastery at Kasan. In 
1742 he was consecrated bishop of Nishney-Novo- 
gorod, in 1752 he was made member of the Synod, 
and bishop of Rasan, and in 1757 he was preferred 
to the archbishopric of Novogorod. In 1 762 he per- 

;i Sec a notice by the author on the subject of the Russian theatre in 
the Breslauer Zeitung for June 22, 1826 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 173 

formed the ceremony of the coronation of Cathe- 
rine the Seconds and was raised to the dignity of a 
metropolitan. He died at Moscow on the 30th of 
June, 1767. This prelate made himself famous by 
his sermons, which, for the time at which they 
were written, are unrivalled in clearness of style, 
and in power and acuteness of thought. Still very 
few of them have ever been printed. He assisted 
Catherine the Great in many of her magnificent 
projects, and enjoyed the distinction of her especial 
favour. Karamsin thus speaks of him in his Pan- 
theon of Russian Authors : " The merit of Di- 
mitrj's sermons consists, not in the display of rhe- 
torical art, but in the Christian tone of their doc- 
trines, and their bold exposure of worldly wicked- 
ness. He reproved, in the presence of the court, 
with a loud voice the time-serving and adulatory 
nobles, shewing them how small in reality are the 
advantages to be derived from the idol which they 
worshipped. His own irreproachable life gave him 
a right to be independent and severe in his lan- 
guage from the pulpit. His sermon on the day of 
the Annunciation of the Virgin deserves especial 
notice, in which he portrays the condition of reli- 
gion and its ministers in Russia before the time 
when Elizabeth Petrowna ascended the throne. 

Dimitrj (Soograf), probably an ecclesiastic trans- 
lated in 1385, or, according to others, in 1402, 
from the Greek into Russian, an iambic poem, 
called The Creation, by George Pissid, metropoli- 
tan of Nikomedia, (who lived in the seventh cen- 
tury). This translation is mentioned in the old 
Ptussian Latopisses, as an extraordinary perform- 



174 A LEXICON OF 

ance. Manuscript copies of it, bearing the title of 
A Glorification of God in relation to his Creation 
of the World, by the exceedingly wise George Pis- 
sid ; a translation of the same by Dimitrj Soograf, 
are preserved in the synodal library, in the library 
of St. Sophia at Novogorod, in that of Alexander- 
Newsky, and the Academy of Sciences at St. Pe- 
tersburg. 

Diwoff ; the continuer of Karamsin's History of 
the Empire of Russia. 

Dmitrijeff (Iwan Iwanowitsch), acting privy 
councillor, and knight, member of numerous 
learned societies, was born in 1760, at the estate of 
his father, in the governmental department of Sim- 
birsk, and was educated at Kasan, and afterwards 
at Simbirsk, in private seminaries. But this course 
of instruction was interrupted, and only continued 
indeed till his twelfth year ; since the troubles at 
the time of PutgatschefFs insurrection compelled his 
father to fly from city to city, with all his property 
and effects ; and after his arrival in Moscow, to 
wait from day to day for better times, in order to 
return home in tranquillity. Under these circum- 
stances he resolved to send his son, then but four- 
teen years old, to St. Petersburg, to have him en- 
rolled as a soldier in the regiment of Semenoffian- 
guards; where, after he had continued to attend 
the regimental school for a period of only seven 
months, he entered on active service, in which he 
remained till he attained the rank of captain. At 
the accession of the Emperor Paul he received, at 
his own request, permission to retire from the army 
with the rank of colonel ; and after some months 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 175 

entered into the civil service, in which he became 
subsequently upper procurator to the senate. He 
then solicited his discharge, which he obtained, 
together with the rank of a privy-councillor 
and the grant of a pension. Under the reign of 
the Emperor Alexander, he discharged the duties 
of a senator ; he afterwards became minister of 
justice, and was decorated with the order of St. 
Anne, first class, and that of St. Alexander. After 
he had filled the latter office for four years, he 
again took his leave, but the retirement of his pri- 
vate life did not banish his memory from the noble 
heart of his most gracious master. He was ap- 
pointed on the commission then named for the re- 
lief of the desolated town of Moscow, and received 
the rank of acting privy councillor, and the order 
of St. Wladimir, first class. DmitrijefF began even 
in early life to occupy himself with poetry ; and in- 
serted his poems in many periodical journals, espe- 
cially in the Moscow Journal of 1792-1793. Later 
he published some of his productions separately, 
by the title, More of my Trifles, Moscow, 1795. 
The third complete edition of his writings appeared 
in 1804, in three parts, at Moscow; a fourth edi- 
tion in 1814 ; and a fifth in 1818. Still more re- 
cently, a sixth, improved and cheaper edition, has 
been prepared for the use of the St. Petersburg- 
Free Society for the Friends of Russian Eloquence. 
The poems of his composition are sacred odes, 
epistles, satires, tales, fables, songs, epitaphs, epi- 
grams, and other smaller trifles. In these poems 
intelligence and feeling speak in a pure, agreeable, 
noble, and simple style. The structure of his verse 



176 A LEXICON OF 

is light and natural, correct and clear. Amongst 
those whose language may be regarded as a pure 
model of Russian writing, he may be classed in the 
same rank with Karamsin. Of them the same ob- 
servation may be made which is applicable to the 
sun in spring, that it not only warms the earth, but 
that it elicits from it also its own native heat, which 
had remained through the winter buried in the 
snow. Of his fables, Herr Merslakoff thus speaks : 
" Sumarokoff found them familiarised among the 
simple and lower class of the people ; Chemnizer 
transplanted them into the town; Dmitrijeff opened 
to them the door of admission into elegant and en- 
lightened society, distinguished by good taste and 
refinement of language." Herr Makaroff has writ- 
ten a general review of the works of Dmitrijeff, 
which begins with the words, "Who does not know 
the Russian La Fontaine ?" 

Dobrowskj (Joseph), properly, Daubrawsky ye 
Solnii, Abbe — born of Bohemian parents, the 17th 
of August, 1753, at Jyermet, near Rrab, in Hun- 
gary, became a Jesuit at Brunn, and was tutor in 
the well-known family of Count Nostitz, at Prague, 
in the year 1 786 ; afterwards appointed theological 
censor and vice-rector of the Prague Seminary ; 
later still of the seminary at Olmiitz : travelled in 
company of Count Joachim Sternberg to Sweden, 
and in 1792 to St. Petersburg and Moscow, for the 
purpose of making collections of the Sclavonic lite- 
rature. From 1819 to 1822 he was engaged in 
writing his Sclavonic Grammar, by the title of In- 
stitutiones Lhiguce Sclavicce Diahcti Veteris, qua? 
quum a/pud Riissos, servos cdiosque ritus Greed, turn 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 177 

apud Dalmatos, Glagolitas ritus Latini Sclavos, in 
libris sacris obtinet, Svo. Vindobonae, 1822, Anton 
v. Schmidt. It contains an introduction of se- 
venty-eight pages, and other matter to the amount 
of seven hundred and twenty pages : price 3 Pr. 
thalers, 8 groschen. This grammar has since been 
used as the common instruction book among the 
Poles and Russians. Besides this, which may be 
considered his masterpiece, he wrote in reference 
to the Sclavonic nations: 1. Die Bildsamkeit der 
Sclovishen Sprache: The Construction of the Scla- 
vonic Language,. Prague, 1799. 2. Cyrill und Ma- 
th iid; der Sclavens Apostel : Cyril and Methiid ; 
The Apostles of the Sclaves, Prague, 1 823. 3. Ent- 
zviirf zu einem Algemeinen Etijmologicon der Scla- 
wischen Sprachen : An Attempt at a Universal Ety- 
mology of the Sclavonic Languages, Prague, 1833, 
second edition. 4. Slawin, Prague, 1806-1834, 
price 2 Pr. thalers, 18 gr.; a work containing all 
the results of the enquiries instituted by Prussia on 
the subject of Sclavonic literature. 5. Slowanlca, 
for the better knowledge of the old and new Scla- 
vonic literature ; the philosophical construction of 
the language in all the different dialects, its his- 
tory, and antiquities ; 2 vols, with two engravings, 
and a musical appendix, 8vo. Prague, 1814-1815, 
intended as a companion to Slawin, see above. 
6. Historisch-Critisch Unter suckling, woher die Scla- 
ven ihren namen er halt en liaben : A Historical and 
Critical Enquiry into the Origin of Sclavonic Names; 
to be found in the sixth vol. of the Records of the 
Literary Society of Bohemia, from the 268th to the 
298th page : Prague, 1781, Svo. 7. Uber die Be- 



178 A LEXICON OF 

grabniss-art der alt en Slawen uberhaupt, und der 
Bohmen insbesondere ; On the Mode of Interment 
practised by the ancient Sclaves in general, and by 
the Bohemians in particular : Prague, 1 786, 4to. 
8. Uber erne stelle im neunzehnten Briefe des Hei- 
ligen Bonassarius, die Slawen ande ihre Sitten be- 
treffend : On a Passage in the nineteenth letter of 
St. Bonassarius relating to the Sclaves and their 
Customs; Prague, 1787, 4to. A most classical mo- 
del for all grammarians of the Sclavonic language 
is to be found in his System of the Bohemian Lan- 
guage, Prague, 1819, large 8vo.; (see Buchmayer). 
Late in the autumn of 1828 this patriarch of Scla- 
vonic literature came to Vienna, and from thence 
undertook a scientific journey to Cracow ; but 
on the 6th of January, 1829, died at Briinn, in the 
77th year of his age. A complete list of his works 
may be found in Dunder's catalogue of Sclavonic 
books. 

Dolgoruki (Prince I wan Michailowitsch), privy- 
councillor and knight, member of numerous Rus- 
sian learned societies, born at Moscow in 1764, re- 
ceived the first rudiments at home, and afterwards 
completed his education at the University of Mos- 
cow. After finishing his three years' studies at that 
place, he entered the military profession as ensign in 
the Moscow infantry regiment, and was at the same 
time appointed by King Stanislaus Augustus a colo- 
nel of the Polish guards. He was engaged in the 
campaign of the Crimea, and soon afterwards was 
promoted into the guards. After the conclusion of 
the peace with Sweden, 1793, he rose at once from 
being captain in the guards to the rank of brigadier, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 179 

and was appointed vice-governor of Pensa. Under 
the Emperor Paul the First he was admitted to the 
college of the Chamber, was made an acting coun- 
cillor of state, and became the senior member of 
the Upper Salt-works Directory at Moscow. After 
the accession of the Emperor Alexander, he re- 
ceived, on the suggestion of the legislative senate, 
in the year 1802, the appointment of civil governor 
of Wladimir; and, after having held this office for 
ten years, relinquished it in 1812. During this ser- 
vice he gained, besides other distinctions, the order 
of St. Anne, first class. The learning of the Latin 
language, and assiduous reading of books on sacred 
subjects, awoke in him the slumbering talent for 
poetry, which was improved and directed under 
the guidance of a Schuwaloff and Cheraskoff, the 
worthy professors of the Moscow University. His 
first attempt was a poem on the death of general 
Soritsch, 1787. His writings, in three separate 
editions, of which the last, in 1819, is dedicated to 
the University of Moscow, were published with the 
title of Poems of Prince I. M. Dolgorukj. This 
author exhibits his talent chiefly in philosophical 
odes, and epistles written in a familiar strain. 
Acute thoughts, fiery and deep feeling, and simple 
but happy expressions, are his most observable ex- 
cellencies ; and a lasting value must ever be at- 
tached to his Perhaps ; The Fire-side ; To My 
Neighbour ; and The Testament. " 

Domasciineff (Sergj Gerassimowitsch), genlle- 

b Note by the Translator. — Prince Dolgorukj is now, in his 74th 
year, governor-general ol the governmental department of Wilna. 

n2 



180 A LEXICON OF 

man of the privy-chamber, and knight of the 
Swedish order of Vasa, received his education in 
the Land Cadet Corps, and afterwards travelled 
for a long time in different countries of Europe. 
From 1775 till 1783 he was director and vice-pre- 
sident of the Academy. At the quinquagenarian 
jubilee of the Academy in 1776, he delivered a dis- 
course On the Duty of Learned Societies to unite 
Moral with Physical Researches. In 1777 he pro- 
posed to the Academy to compose and publish 
A Universal Geographical, Historical, Political, 
Physical, and Economical Account of Russia. A 
select committee was appointed for this purpose, 
and in 1778 an exact specification of all the sub- 
jects of this work was published ; but alas ! it has 
to this day remained unaccomplished. Domasch- 
nefF died in the year 1 796. 
Drosdoff. See Philaret. 



E. 

Emin (Feodor Alexandrowitsch), was born in 
Poland, 1735, educated at Kieff, and afterwards 
visited Turkey. At that time he was induced to 
embrace the Mahommedan faith, and to enter the 
corps of Janizaries. At last he resolved to go to 
London, where he lived for some time under the 
name of Mahomed Emin. In 1758 he presented 
himself before the Russian embassy in that metro- 
polis, and was baptized anew in the ambassador's 
private chapel. In 1761 he travelled to St. Peters- 
burg, and was at first appointed a teacher in the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 181 

Cadet Corps, and afterwards translator to the Col- 
lege for Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet. He died 
the 18th of April, 1770. Emin was possessed of 
no ordinary abilities ; a fiery imagination, quick 
comprehension, and penetrating intelligence. He 
had a thorough acquaintance with many of the 
European and Asiatic languages. But all these 
talents were neither accompanied by prudence, nor 
built upon a foundation of solid learning. He 
wrote — 1. Some romances, viz. The Fortunes of 
Lisark and Sarmanda, 1763; The Caprices of For- 
tune, or the Adventures of Miramond, 1766; The 
Fate of Themistocles, 1763. 2. A book of Moral 
Fables, 1764. 3. A theological work, called The 
Way to Salvation, or Godly Tracts, which contain 
the most important rules for a general knowledge 
of religious truths. This work was first printed in 
1780, ten years after the death of the author, and 
has since passed through several editions. 4. An 
Account of the Ancient and Modern State of the 
Ottoman Empire, 1764, and many others. The 
most considerable, however, of all his works is — 5. 
A History of Russia to the time of Wsewolod the 
Third, or the year 1213, which was printed in 
the years 1767, 1768, and 1769, in three parts, at 
the cost of the Academy of Sciences. This book 
was held for some time by the Prussians in great es- 
teem ; but after Schlozer and other real historians 
had enlightened the field of Russian history with 
the torch of true criticism, it lost all its value. Its 
author had availed himself of the most exception- 
able sources, fabricated events which had never oc- 



182 A LEXICON OF 

curred, and referred to books for authority which 
never had existed in the world. 

Epiphanj (Slawinezk or Slawanizkj), a hieromo- 
nach in the Monastery of Kieff, educated himself 
at the Kieff Academy, and at other Polish places 
of instruction, at the beginning of the 17th century, 
and received the tonsure subsequently at the Sub- 
terranean Monastery at Kieff. The bojar Theo- 
dor Michailowitsch Rtischtscheff, so distinguished 
for his piety and patriotism, resolved to found a 
learned society for the translation of numerous use- 
ful and clerical books into the Sclavonic language, 
at the Hermitage of the Manifestation of Christ, 
which he had built in the neighbourhood of Moscow 
in the year 1648. With this end in view, in 1649, 
he drew Epiphanj and a number of other learned 
monks out of their cloisters, and assigned them a 
suitable lodging and provision. This society trans- 
lated several books from the Greek, as — 1. The Life 
of St. John Chrysostom. 2. His six Discourses on 
the Priesthood. 3. Thirty different Discourses of 
St. Gregory of Nazianzus. 4. Eleven Homilies of 
St. Basil the Great. 5. Four Discourses of St. 
Anastasius of Alexandria against Arius. 6. Hea- 
ven, or the Setting Forth of an Orthodox Faith, by 
the venerable John of Damascus. These transla- 
tions were printed at Moscow in the years 1664- 
1665. Many other translations were also executed 
by him, or under his superintendence, which have 
been preserved among the manuscripts in the Pa- 
triarchal Library. He also compiled — 1. A Com- 
plete Graeco-Latino-Sclavonic Lexicon, in 2 vo- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 183 

lumes ; and 2. A Philosophical Lexicon, or a Com- 
parison of Several Passages from the Greek Fa- 
thers, &c. Neither of these works is in print. The 
first is preserved in MS. in the Synodal Library, 
and a copy of the last is in the possession of the 
Society of the Friends of Literature. After the 
lapse of some years he was made corrector of the 
press at the Moscow Printing-house, and after- 
wards appointed by the Patriarch Nikon to be a 
teacher in the Patriarchal School at the Monastery 
of Tschudow. There he occupied himself in the 
correction and improvement of the Sclavonic 
church books. His most important work was un- 
dertaking to translate the entire Bible from Greek 
into the Sclavonic language. The Czar Alexej 
Michailowitsch engaged him in this labour, under 
the supervision of the metropolitan Pawel (Paul) 
of Sarez, who about this time succeeded to the pa- 
triarchal chair. Several learned men of the eccle- 
siastical profession were appointed his coadjutors in 
the work. To assure them stillness and tranquil- 
lity while engaged in this occupation, a retired 
dwelling was assigned to them some way out of 
Moscow, at Krutizi, in a lonely and picturesque 
vicinity. They began first with the New Testa- 
ment, and translated it in the rough. This great 
undertaking, however, was interrupted suddenly by 
the death of the excellent metropolitan Pawel, who 
died September the 9th, 1676. Epiphanj delivered 
a funeral discourse over his remains, wrote an epi- 
taph in Greek verse for his monument, but soon 
after, the 19th of November in the same year, 
followed him" also into eternity. Epiphanj was 



184 A LEXICON OF 

highly esteemed by all his contemporaries for his 
learning, talents, activity, and piety. Of his coad- 
jutors in the translation the best known are the 
hieromonach Arsenj Satanofskj c , who also trans- 
lated the lives of many of the saints, and a monk 
of the Monastery of Tschudow at Moscow, named 
Euthimj, who gave a new translation of all the 
works of St. Dionysius Areopagites. 

Eugenj (Ewgenj BolchowitimofF), archbishop of 
Pskow, Livonia, and Courland, knight of several 
orders, member of the Russian Academy, of several 
universities, and other learned societies, was born 
the 19th of December, A. D. 1767. From the 
year 1778 he was educated at the seminary of Wo- 
ronesh, and afterwards studied at the Clerical Aca- 
demy at Moscow, and at the University of the same 
place. From 1 788, after his return to Woronesh, 
he served at the seminary of the same place as 
teacher to several classes; after that as prefect, 
and till 1799 as teacher in theology, church history, 
and hermeneutics. During his discharge of these 
duties he filled the office of protoijerej of the town 
of Pawlowsk. In 1799, after he had become a 
widower, Amwrossj, at that time metropolitan of St. 
Petersburg, called him to the Alexander Academy, 
and on the 19th of March in the same year he re- 
ceived the tonsure at the Lawra of St. Alexander 
Newskj, and was appointed prefect and teacher, first 
of philosophy, and afterwards of theology, in the 
above-mentioned academy. On the 6th of January, 



In Strahl's work, Learned Russia, may be found full particulars re- 
specting FAithimj and Arsenj. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 185 

1804, he was promoted to the highest rank, and 
on the ISth of the same month was consecrated 
bishop of Old Russia, and vicar of Novogorod. In 
1S0S he was translated to Wologda; in 1813 to Ka- 
luga; and in 1816 was made archbishop of Pskow. 
Of his works the following are published: 1. 
Eight Historical and Theological Dissertations on 
various subjects, and some Sermons, which were 
published singly between 1793 and 1S06, at Mos- 
cow, at Woronesh, and St. Petersburg. 2. An Ac- 
count of the Life and Actions of the most venerable 
Bishop Tichon Sadonskj, St. Petersburg, 1796; 
second edition, Moscow, 1820. 3. A. Historical 
Account of Grusia, in regard to its political, eccle- 
siastical, and scientific relations, St. Petersburg, 
1802. 4. The Church Calendar, with various His- 
torical Annotations, Moscow, 1803. 5. Three His- 
torical Discourses on the Antiquities, Sacred and 
Profane, of Novogorod, Moscow, 1808. 6. A His- 
torical Lexicon of Writers of the Ecclesiastical 
Profession belonging to the Russian-Greek Church, 
in two parts, St. Petersburg, 1818. A German ver- 
sion of this Lexicon was published by professor 
Strahl, under the title of Learned Russia, Leipsic, 
by Fr. Fleischer, 1828. Many of his essays on 
historical and literary subjects are to be found in 
the Journals — The Friend of Enlightenment, The 
European Intelligencer, The Friend of Eloquence, 
The Son of his Country, Patriotic Memorabilia, 
and several others. The venerable Eugenj also 
took a part in the compilation of the History 
of the Russian Hierarchy, which was published by 
VniwTossj, bishop of Old Russia, at Moscow, in the 



186 A LEXICON OF 

years 1807-1815, in seven parts. He published 
further — 1. The Posthumous Works of the most 
venerable Herr Tichon Sadonskj, St. Petersburg, 
1799. 2. Select Sermons of Innocentj, bishop 
of Woronesh, Woronesh, 1799; and 3. A Collec- 
tion of Sermons and Discourses by Amwrossj, 
metropolitan of St. Petersburg, three parts, Mos- 
cow, 1810. Some translations of his from the 
Greek, Latin, and French languages are extant. 

Euthimj (Euthimius). See Epiphanj. 

Ewers (Johann Philip Gustavus), acting coun- 
cillor of state, and professor of Russian History, 
Geography, and Statistics at the University of Dor- 
pat, was born on the 4th of July, 1781, in a village 
of the bishopric of Corvei ; received his earliest 
education from the village priest. Afterwards, from 
the year 1796, at the Gymnasium of Holzmunden, 
and finally, in 1799, at the University of Gottingen, 
where he frequented chiefly the lectures of Schlo- 
zer and Heeren. In 1803 he received an appoint- 
ment as private tutor in a noble Finlandish family, 
and there first began to occupy himself seriously 
with statistics and Russian history. Finding his 
interest in these studies increase, he now resolved 
to devote all his leisure to these pursuits. In 1808 
he continued his investigations at Moscow, under 
the advice and with the assistance of Karamsin. 
In 1810 he was made professor ordinarius at the 
University of Dorpat, and in 1818 rector magni- 
ficus at the same. The works of Ewers, which 
have earned for him a high place among the list 
of Russian historical writers, are the following: 1. 
Von Unsprung des Russischen Staats ; On the Rise 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 187 

of the Russian Empire; Riga and Leipsic, 1S0S. 
2. Kritische Vorarbeiten zur Geschicte der Russen : 
Critical Materials for a History of the Russians ; 
Dorpat, 1814, first vol. 3. Geschicte der Russen: 
A History of the Russians; Dorpat, 1816, first vol. 
4. Des Herzogthums, Ehrten-Ritter unci Landrecht : 
The Jurisdiction of the Dukedom, the Honourable 
Order of Knights and Provincial Courts, Dorpat, 
1821. 5. Das alteste Recht der Russen, in seine?' 
geshictlichen Entzvickelung dagestelt : The most an- 
cient Forms of Law among the Russians, considered 
in relation to their Historical development, Dor- 
pat, 1829. Neumann s Entwickelung des Russischeri 
Recht es nach der ersten bis zur ziveiter Prawcla. 
Aus den studien zur grundlichen kenntniss der vor- 
zeit Russlands, von Ewers. See Neumann's Ex- 
planation of the Russian Law, as it existed from 
the time of the first to the second Prawda. Taken 
from the Studies for a Fundamental Knowledge of 
Russian Antiquity, by Ewers, Dorpat, 1830. 

F. 

Feodor (Maximoff), a hypo-deacon, and author 
of a Sclavonic grammar, which appeared in print in 
1725. 

Feophan Prokopowitsch, archbishop of Novo- 
gorod, presiding member of the Holy Synod, held a 
distinguished station in the ranks of the great fel- 
low-labourers of Peter the Great. He was born at 
KiefF, the 8th of July, 1681, lost his parents whilst 
of very tender years, and was educated by his uncle, 
the hieromonach Feophan. He received further 



188 A LEXICON OF 

instructions at the Academy of Kieff, and at the 
Lithuanian schools, and finally completed his sci- 
entific studies at Rome. After this he entered the 
monastery of Potschajeff, in Volhynia, and in 1704 
undertook the post of lecturer in poetry, at the 
Kieff Academy. In 1706, at the arrival of Peter 
the Great at that place, to lay the foundation of 
the excavated fortress there, he undertook to sa- 
lute him with a gratulatory address, which received 
the entire approbation of the emperor. In 1711 he 
accompanied Peter in the Turkish campaign ; after 
his return, entered on the office of rector and 
teacher of theology at the Kieff Academy, and by 
his devoted attention to his duties, brought this 
place of education to a high degree of perfection. 
In 1716 he was summoned to St. Petersburg, was 
consecrated there bishop of Pschow and Narwa, 
and chosen by Peter to be his assistant in the re- 
formation of the Russian hierarchy. In 1719 ap- 
peared under his direction the Pailes for the Clergy, 
and many other well-known enactments of Peter 
the Great on these subjects. In 1721 he was raised 
to the rank of archbishop, and appointed second 
vice-president of the Holy Synod. In 1724 he 
crowned the Empress Catherine at Moscow, and 
at the death of Peter delivered a funeral oration 
over his grave, which is still esteemed a model of 
true eloquence. In 1728 he crowned the Emperor 
Peter the Second, and in 1730 the Empress Anne, 
by whose side he stood firm against the High Coun- 
cil, who made the attempt to control and limit the 
imperial power. Feophan died at St. Petersburg, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 189 

the 8th of September, 1736, and was buried in the 
cathedral of St. Sophia, at Novogorod. This arch- 
prelate, who obtained the name of the Russian 
Chrysostom, was justly considered the most en- 
lightened man of his time. An enumeration of his 
writings must excite our astonishment at the mul- 
tiplicity and variety of his occupations. He com- 
posed theological, historical, political, and prag- 
matical works ; sermons, panegyrical and funeral 
discourses ; and also wrote verses, in which the un- 
common acuteness of his understanding appears. 
His oratorical compositions, written with strict at- 
tention to all the rules of rhetoric, shine in every 
line with a brilliance of talent which makes the 
reader forget the roughness and impurity of style, 
which was the peculiar and necessary fault of the 
time in which he wrote. His compositions in Latin 
are, in point of language, much more pure than 
those in Russian. His name will ever be remembered 
with that of the great monarch whom he under- 
stood and appreciated better than all his contempo- 
raries, and better even than many of his suc- 
cessors. Further information respecting him in 
his literary capacity, may be found in Katschen- 
ofskj's Glance at the Progress of Eloquence in the 
first half of the last Century (in Russian). 

Filaret. See Philaret. 

Filimonoff, published a very successful transla- 
tion of Horace. 

Feodoroff (Boris), a dramatic poet. 1 1 is Julius 
Caesar gives evidence of a strong talent for tra- 
gedy. 



190 A LEXICON OF 



Gabriel (Busbinskj), bishop of Rasan and Mu- 
rom, born in Little Russia, studied at the Academy 
of KiefF, and became teacher at the Academy of 
Moscow. In 1707 he took the monastic order, 
and in 1714 was made prefect at the same academy. 
In Moscow he soon acquired celebrity by his preach- 
ing. Peter the First invited him in 1719 to St. 
Petersburg, and appointed him upper hieromonach 
to the fleet. In this capacity it often became his 
duty to preach in presence of the Emperor, and 
on all these occasions he met with distinguished ap- 
probation. In 1721 he was promoted to the rank 
of archimandrite, was made a member of the di- 
recting synod, director and patron of all the cleri- 
cal schools and printing-houses; and in 1726 he 
received the rank of bishop. He died at Moscow, 
in 1731. Katschenofskj, in his treatise called A 
Glance at the Progress of Russian Eloquence in 
the first half of the last Century, has given us a 
complete critique on the style and matter of his 
Sermons, which were printed and published at 
Moscow, in 1784. Peter the Great frequently 
commissioned him to translate foreign works, of 
which the following were printed : 1. Puffendorf's 
Introduction to the History of the States of Eu- 
rope, St. Petersburg, 1718. 2. On the Duties of 
Men and Citizens, by the same author, St. Peters- 
burg, 1726. 3. Stratteman's Theatre, or Historical 
Drama, representing the history of the world and 
of the Bible, St. Petersburg, 1724. Gabriel was 
also appointed to revise Moreri's translation of the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 191 

Great Historical Lexicon, which was begun by 
order of Peter, in the year 1716 ; but only 427 
sheets, comprising the letters from A to N, have 
been preserved in the Synodal Library. 

Gedeon Krinofskj, bishop of Pskow, was born 
at Casan in 1726, and studied in the seminary of 
that place. Having completed his course of phi- 
losophy there, he was appointed a teacher in the 
same academy, and took the tonsure. In 1750 he 
asked permission of the synod to finish his scien- 
tific studies at the Academy of Moscow. Here he 
attended theological lectures, and himself preached 
some sermons in public, which soon attracted ge- 
neral attention by their clearness of thought, depth 
of feeling, and animation and correctness of style. 
When the Empress Elizabeth Petrowna, during her 
visit to Moscow in 1753, had heard the merits of 
Gedeon spoken of in high terms by Schuwaloff, she 
desired Gedeon to preach in her presence, and im- 
mediately appointed him preacher to the court, 
with commands to attend her to St. Petersburg. 
He discharged this office to the entire satisfaction 
of the Empress, who not unfrequently suggested 
to him the subject for his sermons. In 1755 he 
was appointed archimandrite of the monastery of 
Sawin Storoschew, and promoted to be a member 
of the Holy Synod. In 1759 he became archi- 
mandrite of the Sergian monastery of Troizka, but 
still continued to perform the office of preacher to 
the court. At the time of the coronation of Ca- 
therine the Second he was in Moscow, and on the 
7th of October, 1762, he was consecrated to the 
dignity of bishop of Pskow. He died on the 'I'lnd 



192 A LEXICON OF 

of June, 1763, on a journey which he was making 
through his eparchy. His sermons were printed at 
the desire of the Empress, in 1760, in two volumes. 
Gedeon selected as the model of his imitation, the 
Peloponnesian bishop, Elias Minatz, (whose writings 
at that time had not yet been translated into the 
Russian language,) and frequently borrowed whole 
passages from his works. On his style some criti- 
cal remarks may be found in the work of Katsche- 
nofskj, mentioned in our notice of Gabriel; (see last 
article). Herr Karamsin, in his Pantheon of Rus- 
sian Writers, speaks of him in the following terms : 
" The sermons of Gedeon have obtained a high 
reputation, and they deserve it. They abound in 
Christian piety, original observations, moral truths, 
and rhetorical ornament. Their style is not always 
equal, but always clear ; and on the whole is very 
euphonious. Gedeon loved much to select his il- 
lustrations from history, or from nature, and it is 
evident that he was a great reader of the ancient 
historians and Pliny. He also knew well how to 
introduce into the right place in his sermons, quo- 
tations from the old fathers and doctors of the 
church. He was, in one word, a learned man ; had 
much natural acuteness, and a peculiar turn for 
eloquence. The name of the second Feophan has 
been aptly given to him ; and indeed, as far as na- 
tural qualifications go, he cannot be considered his 
inferior. Gedeon also was in the habit of turning 
to account the events of the day in his discourses, 
and the dreadful earthquake at Lisbon served him 
as the subject for one of his best sermons." 

Gennadj (archbishop of Novogorod and Pskow), 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 193 

a celebrated partizan of the doctrines of the true 
faith, against the judaizing heresy, was conse- 
crated archbishop in the year 1485, and died, after 
he had gained himself many enemies by his intem- 
perate zeal, secluded in the Tschudow Monastery 
(of Miracles) at Moscow, the 14th of December, 
1506. Gennadj left many circulars addressed to 
his clergy against heretical sects and doctrines, and 
supported his arguments not only by appeals to 
and quotations from the fathers of the church, but 
also by mathematical computations of the Paschal 
cycle. These manuscripts are to be found in dif- 
ferent libraries. In his circulars, which were 
printed in the Ancient Russian Library, a special 
zeal is observable for the promotion of school 
building. 

Georgj Konisskj, archbishop of White Russia, 
and member of the Holy Directing Synod, was 
born at Naschin, the 20th of November, 1717. 
From 1728 to 1743 he continued to study at the 
Academy of KiefF. In 1744 he entered the mo- 
nastic order; in 1745 was appointed lecturer in 
poetry in the above named university ; and in 
1747 teacher of the philosophical class, and prefect 
of the Academy. In 1751 he was made rector and 
reader in theology, and in 1752 archimandrite of 
the Monastery of Brothers, at KiefF. In 1755 he 
received consecration as bishop of Mohilew, and 
in 1783 was elected to the dignity of archbishop 
and member of the Holy Synod. He died at Mo- 
hilew on the 23rd of February, 1795. Of his writ- 
ings the following are best known : 1. A Discourse 
in the Latin language, delivered on the 27th of 



194 A LEXICON OF 

July, 1765, at Warsaw, before the newly-elected 
King of Poland, Stanislaus Poniatowskj, upon the 
Persecutions suffered by the Polish Professors of 
the Prussian Greek Faith d . 2. The Rights and 
Privileges of the Inhabitants of Lithuania and Po- 
land, who profess the Greek Faith, in the Polish 
language, printed at Warsaw, 1767. 3. Histori- 
cal Notices respecting the Eparchy of Mohilew, 
printed in the New St. Petersburg Calendar for 
the year 1775. 4. On the Duties of Parish Priests, 
St. Petersburg, 1776. 5. Discourses for Edifica- 
tion, printed at the press which he himself estab- 
lished at Mohilew. Of his gratulatory addresses 
the following are extant : 1. A Discourse delivered 
by him, 29th of September, 1762, before Catherine 
the Second, after her coronation at Moscow. 2. 
Two orations pronounced in the year 1787 in pre- 
sence of the same Empress, on the occasion of the 
journey which she made through the governmental 
department of Mohilew. 

Georgj, a monk of the Sergian Monastery of 
Troizka, lived at the beginning of the sixteenth 
century. He composed a Russian Chronicle, which 
reaches to the year 1533, and which is now pre- 
served in the Synodal Library at Moscow. 

GrsEL. See Innokentj. 

Glagoleff wrote in the year 1818 a treatise On 



<» A translation of this sermon is to be found in the fourteenth number 
of the European Messenger for the year 1804. The modest answer de- 
serves notice which he made to King Stanislaus, who asked him, after 
having listened attentively to the discourse, " Are there many men in 
Russia as learned as yourself?" " I am the least of all," replied 
Georgj. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 195 

the Natural Characteristics of the Popular Songs of 
the Russians, which is to be found in the eleventh 
volume of the Records of the University of Mos- 
cow, published by the Society of the Friends of Rus- 
sian Literature. Another essay On the Old Fest- 
spiele, or, Sports usual upon Feast-days, appeared in 
the European Messenger at Moscow, 1821. 

Glinka (Feodor Nikolajewitsch), called also 
Glinka the First, was colonel in the Ismailoff- 
guard, and knight of several orders, president of the 
St. Petersburg Free Society of the Friends of Rus- 
sian Literature, principal coadjutor of the president 
of the Society for the Erection of Schools on the 
system of mutual instruction, and member of many 
other learned societies, was born in the govern- 
mental department of Smolensk, in the year 1788. 
From the year 1799 he received his education in 
the first Cadet Corps : in 1803 he became an officer, 
and in 1 805 made the Austrian campaign. After 
this he took leave of the army, and retired to his 
estates situated in the department of Smolensk, to 
occupy himself there with literature and scientific 
pursuits. In 1810 he travelled through the entire 
districts of Smolensk and Tver, and part of that 
of Moscow, in boats upon the Wolga. In 1811 he 
visited Kieff. In 1812, when the enemy suddenly 
approached his property, he mounted his charger, 
and hastened to join the army. As far as Ta- 
rutin he was a spectator of the campaign, but 
after this he again entered the service, and was 
appointed aidecamp to Count Miloradowitsch till 
the end of the campaign of 1811. In 1815 he 
exchanged into the guards, and was aidecamp to 

o2 



196 A LEXGION OF 

the chief of the staff of the Corps of Guards. 
After that he was aidecamp to the head of the 
war department at St. Petersburg, but he became 
implicated in some of the reported conspiracies, 
and receiving his dismissal on that account, was 
banished to Petrosawodsk, where, in the capacity 
of collegiate councillor, he may probably be em- 
ployed in some department of the civil service. 
Glinka takes a leading position among the mili- 
tary writers of Russia. The following works of 
his pen are best known : 1. Letters of a Russian 
officer regarding Poland, Austria, Prussia, and 
France, with a detailed account of the campaign of 
the Russians against the French in the years 1805 
and 1806, as well as of the war in and out of Rus- 
sia from 1812 to 1815, in eight parts, Moscow, 
1815-1816. The two first parts of these Letters, 
which contain the account of the war of 1805, were 
printed at Moscow in 1808. 2. Letters to a 
Friend, containing remarks, thoughts, and reflections 
on several subjects, in three parts, St. Petersburg, 
1816-1817. 3. Passages in the Life of Thaddaus 
Kosciuski, St. Petersburg, 1S15. 4. A short ex- 
tract from the Military Journal, which was edited 
from 1817 to 1819 by the Adjutant-General Si- 
paghin, St. Petersburg, 1817. 5. Reflections on the 
Necessity of an Active Life, of Literary Occupa- 
tions and Reading, St. Petersburg, ISIS. 6. Luke 
and Maria, a tale, St. Petersburg, ISIS. 7. Si- 
nowoj Bogdan Chmelnizki, or the Deliverance of 
Little Russia, two parts, St. Petersburg, ISIS. 8. 
A Present to Russian Soldiers, St. Petersburg, 1818. 
Many poems, distinguished by their exalted senti- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 197 

ment and noble tone of thought, and written in a 
fiery and exciting style, as well as several treatises 
in prose from the pen of this esteemed author, are 
to be found in the above-mentioned Military Jour- 
nal, in the publications of the Moscow Society for 
the Friends of Russian Literature, in The Son of 
his Native Country, and elsewhere. 

Glinka (Sergj Nikolajewitsch), a major out of 
service, and knight, was born in the governmental 
department of Smolensk, in the year 1774. When 
the Empress Catherine the Second, in her tour 
through White Russia in 1788, visited his parents' 
house, she inscribed his name with her own hand 
in the list of the Land Cadet Corps. In 1796 he 
left that institution to enter the army as a lieute- 
nant. In 1799 he took leave of the profession with 
the rank of major ; and after he had given up the 
entire patrimony which he had inherited, as a dowry 
to his sister, he went into the Ukraine as a teacher, 
where he staid in that capacity three years. Since 
that time he has lived principally at Moscow, occu- 
pying himself with literature, and in the education 
of young people. His literary productions are : 1 . 
Natalia, the Bojar's Daughter, a drama in four acts, 
brought out at St. Petersburg in 1805. 2. Young's 
Night Thoughts, Moscow, 1806. 3. Prince Mi- 
chael of Tschernigow, a tragedy, in five acts, in 
verse; played first at Moscow, in the year 1807. 
4. Sumabeka, or the Subjugation of Casan, a tra- 
gedy, in five acts, in verse ; brought out first at St. 
Petersburg, 1807. 5. The Zarina Natalia Cyri- 
lowna, a Russian novel, in verse, in ten cantos. 
Moscow, 1808. 6. The Fair Olga, an opera, in 



198 A LEXICON OF 

three acts, produced at Moscow, 1808. 7. The 
New Mirror of Paris, Moscow, 1809. 8. Minin, 
a drama, in three acts, performed at Moscow, 
1809. 9. A History of Russia, for the use of 
youth, 10 volumes, Moscow, 1817-1818; a new 
edition came out in 1822, in 14 vols. 10. Russian 
Tales, Moral and Historical, three parts, Mos- 
cow, 1818. 11. The Life of Suworroff, supposed 
to have been written by himself, Moscow, 1819. 
12. New Lessons for Children, twelve parts, 
Moscow, 1821. From 1808 to 1820 he occu- 
pied himself in the editing of the Russian Mes- 
senger, which contains some very important mate- 
rials for the composition of Russian History. In 
1812 he was decorated with the order of St. Wla- 
dimir, CI. 4, in compliment to his useful and popu- 
lar labours. 

Gluck (Ernst), a Livonian parish priest, was taken 
prisoner in the year 1703 at Marienburg, and con- 
ducted with his whole family to Moscow. Peter 
the Great, who honoured his learning and acquire- 
ments, and especially his familiarity with the Rus- 
sian language, submitted to his superintendence the 
foundation of a school for the common people in 
Moscow. At the opening of the same Gliick wrote 
a programme for its future plan of proceeding, and, 
for the use of the different classes, translated into 
Russian, among other things, Luther's Catechism, 
A German Grammar, The Vestibule, or a Lexicon 
for the learning of the Russian, German, Latin, and 
French languages; The Visible World of Komenius; 
A Key to Languages; and A Key to Geography. 
Whilst he was living at Marienburg, Gliick trans- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 199 

lated the entire Bible into Russian, of which how- 
ever the manuscript was destroyed or lost in the 
taking of that town. It is well known that the 
Empress Catherine the First was educated in the 
house of Gliick. 

Gnaditsch (Nicolaus), imperial councillor and 
knight, librarian to the Imperial Public Library, 
and member of the Russian Society of Sciences, 
was born at Poltawa the 2nd of February, 1784. 
From the year 1793 he received his education at 
the seminary of that place. After its suspension 
he visited the College of Charkoff, and from 1800 
to 1803 was at the Moscow University. After this 
he was employed in the Bureau of Public Instruc- 
tion, and in 1811 appointed to superintend the Im- 
perial Public Library. Gnaditsch, who occupied 
himself principally in advancing the interests of Rus- 
sian literature, published, with this object in view, 
the following works: 1. Lear, a tragedy, in five 
acts, from Shakspeare, in prose, St. Petersburg, 
1809. 2. Tancred, a tragedy, in verse, from Vol- 
taire, played for the first time in 1810, appeared in 
print at St. Petersburg, 1816. 3. Thoughts upon 
the Causes which have chiefly promoted the Pro- 
gress of Enlightenment in Russia, prefixed to an 
important collection published from the Imperial 
Public Library, January 2nd, 1814. 4. The Birth 
of Homer, a lyrical poem, in two cantos, St. Peters- 
burg, 1817 ; in which, to use the phrase of Bestu- 
scheff, " all the glories of the Grecian heaven 
shine." 5. A translation of Homer's Iliad. (Gna- 
ditsch determined at first to complete the work 



200 A LEXICON OF 

which had been begun by Kostroff in 1786% and 
which had only reached to the end of the sixth 
book in 1787 (St. Petersburg) ; and accordingly, 
in the year 1810, he translated into Alexandrine 
verse the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and ele- 
venth books of the Iliad. In the year 1811 the 
continuation of Kostroff's translation, comprising 
the seventh, eighth, and half the ninth book, was 
found and printed in the European Intelligencer 
for the year 1811. This rival work was far from 
bringing any disadvantage to the labours of Gna- 
ditsch ; but, on the contrary, raised their value. 
The public, although naturally, and from old pre- 
possessions, inclined to favour the works of de- 
ceased writers, could not help acknowledging the 
superiority of the new performance, and encouraged 
him to the completion of his task. In the year 1813 
C. C. Uwaroff, at that time president of the Aca- 
demy of Sciences, and a distinguished lover of the 
writings of the ancient classics, proposed to him to 
translate the entire Iliad into the metre of the ori- 
ginal. An attempt of the kind, which Gnaditsch 
made in the sixth book, and which was read aloud 
before an open meeting of the Society of the Friends 
of the Russian Language, attracted the universal 
attention of the Russian literary world, and de- 
cided the best writers of the day to declare them- 
selves in favour of the ancient metre. It was 



1 It was said that Kostroff had translated six more books, which, how- 
ever, he committed to the flames, because the bookseller, to whom he 
presented the work for sale, refused lo bid him more than 150 roubles for 
the MS. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 201 

thus that the hexameter verse was first introduced 
into the Russian language. His Majesty the Em- 
peror Nicholas rewarded the merits of the author 
in having enriched the literature of Russia with his 
excellent and now completed Russian translation 
of the Iliad, with a pension of 3000 roubles per 
annum. In 1805 Gnaditsch published a small col- 
lection of modern Greek national songs, at St. Pe- 
tersburg, 8vo. ; and pointed out in the preface the 
resemblance of the modern Greek to the Russian 
popular poetry. The Northern Bee contains a no- 
tice, that, in the cemetry of the Newskj Monastery 
at St. Petersburg, a monument has recently been 
erected to him, consisting of a granite obelisk with 
a marble basso-relievo of the deceased. The me- 
dallion containing the portrait, bears the superscrip- 
tion, " Gnaditsch, who enriched the literature of 
Russia by his translation of Homer." Under the 
medallion is a verse of the Iliad, selected by Shu- 
kooskj : 

' Tov pew ccito yXuvcrrit; jueXiTo^ yXvKtuv peev avfy" k. t. X. 

" Dem von der Zung' ein Laut wie des Honiges Siisse daher 
floss." 

" From whose tongue the words flowed sweeter than honey ;" 
applied to Nestor in the Iliad, A. 249. 

Further below, "By his friends and admirers." On 
the reverse are recorded the day and year of his 
baptism, and the hour of his death. 

Golatopskj. See Johannikj. 

Golikoff (Iwan Iwanowitsch), imperial council- 
lor, born in 1735, at Kursk, had only learnt to 
read and write, and in his youth was engaged in 



202 A LEXICON OF 

trade. In the meantime he acquired a love for 
literature and history, and having picked up some 
memorable anecdotes and incidents of the life of 
Peter the Great, began to collect all the informa- 
tion respecting that monarch which he could ob- 
tain. In the year 1780 he was involved in a cri- 
minal process, lost almost everything that he pos- 
sessed in the world, and his honour and liberty be- 
sides ; but on the 7th of August, 1782, on the oc- 
casion of the uncovering of the famous monument 
to Peter the Great, at St. Petersburg, a manifesto ap- 
peared, which restored him and a number of other 
prisoners to freedom. This favour, shown him in 
honour of the memory of Ptussia's greatest hero, 
whose glorious actions had already been the fa- 
vourite theme of the unfortunate Golikoff from his 
early childhood, struck his imagination forcibly. 
After his deliverance from restraint, he immediately 
went to the church to return thanks to the Most 
High, and then hastened to the Peter's place, threw 
himself on his knees before the newly uncovered 
statue of Peter, and offered up a vow in public that 
he would write his history. From this time he gave 
up all other business, and occupied himself exclu- 
sively with his Memoirs. After he had collected and 
read all the accounts of this prince which had ever 
been printed or written in Russian, he obtained 
a translation of everything which had appeared 
on the subject in all foreign languages, travelled 
himself to all the places where Peter had been, and 
gathered from the inhabitants of each spot per- 
sonal recollections and anecdotes about him. After 
an interval of six years, lie began in 17SS to write 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 203 

his work at Moscow, by the title, The Actions of 
Peter the Great, the wise Founder of Russia. 
Catherine the Second gave her attention to the 
progress of this work, and gave orders to have all 
the archives of the empire put at the service of the 
author. In 1790 he completed his history, with 
the production of the twelfth volume. But as 
during this time he had collected a quantity of 
other matter on the subject, he afterwards began 
to print A Supplement to the Actions of Peter, etc. 
In the year 1798 eighteen volumes had already ap- 
peared. Besides this, Golikoff published in 1798 
at Moscow, Anecdotes of Peter the Great ; and in 
the year 1800, Lefort's and Gordon's Biographies. 
The Emperor Paul the First rewarded him in 1800 
with the rank of imperial councillor. Golikoff died 
the 12th of March, 1801. His History of Peter 
the Great, will never lose its value as a complete 
collection of all possible information connected 
with that emperor. The critics blame Golikoff 
chiefly for having written his history in too rheto- 
rical and florid a style ; and for introducing a quan- 
tity of irrelevant and unimportant matter. In Go- 
likoff's justification it may be replied, that he was 
not, and himself does not profess to be, a histo- 
rian, but a compiler ; and that out of his thirty 
volumes, ten good volumes of the proper biography 
of his hero may well be extracted, which Russia, 
without his indefatigable industry, would not so 
easily have obtained. 

Golowin (Michael Eusewjewitsch), a pupil of the 
celebrated L. Euler, was, from 1775 to 1786, oc- 
cupied as adjunct to the physical class of the 



204 A LEXICON OF 

Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, and after- 
wards made professor at the Seminary of School- 
masters. He wrote, in 1789, A Plane and Spheri- 
cal Trigonometry ; several essays for the Com- 
mentaries published by the Academy, and translated 
into Russian some mathematical books ; and Te- 
rence's comedy of the Eunuch, 1774. He died in 
the year 1790. 

Golownin (Wassilj Michailowitsch), assistant to 
the director of the Marine Cadet Corps, a captain- 
commander of the navy, and knight, was born 
on the 8th of April, 1776, in the government of 
Rasan. In the ninth year of his age he lost his 
parents, and in 1788 was placed in the Marine 
Cadet Corps, from which he was sent out as mid- 
shipman in 1803. In the last years of his stay in 
the corps, he occupied himself industriously with 
the study of the Russian, French, and English li- 
terature ; with the reading of books of voyages and 
travels, geography, and physics. This course of 
reading inspired him with an irresistible desire to 
travel : he determined, as soon as he had left the 
Cadet Corps, to leave his young brother, and the 
considerable property which he had inherited, under 
the supervision and care of strangers, in order to 
be able to remain in the service, and to have op- 
portunities of seeing foreign countries. The greater 
part of his service was passed out of Russia. In 
1793 and 1794 he was at Stockholm, on board of 
a transport of war, which had conducted thither 
the ambassador, count RumanzofF. In 1795 and 
1 796 he was in England with the allied fleet, 
under the command of vice-admiral Chanikoff; and 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 205 

1798-1800 at the same station, as aidecamp and 
translator to the commander-in-chief, vice-admiral 
Makaroff. At the request of this commander he 
was promoted, in 1799, to the rank of lieutenant ; 
and in 1S02 sent at the expense of the Emperor to 
perform service on board of the English fleet, in 
order to extend his knowledge and familiarity with 
nautical affairs. Herr Golowin served on board 
several English ships, and in different seas: among 
other stations, in the West Indies. In 1806 he 
returned to Russia, and in consequence of his high 
recommendations from the English admirals with 
whom he had sailed, was immediately commissioned 
as commander of the Diana sloop, which was or- 
dered to sail round the world with various objects 
in view. At the beginning of the year 1817 he 
composed and published, at the desire of the minis- 
ter of the Admiralty, Tschitschagoff, The Day and 
Night Sea-Signals, which are still in use in the Rus- 
sian fleet. By this work he obtained the highest 
favour and regard. On the 22nd of July, 1807, he 
was sent out on an expedition, which was distin- 
guished by its laboriousness, its useful discoveries, 
and the misfortunes which he underwent ; for he 
was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and detained, 
together with two other officers and four seamen, 
for two years. Set at liberty by the spirited exer- 
tions of his comrade and friend, lieutenant Peter 
Iwanowitsch Ricord, at present a captain of the 
first rank, and governor of Kamtschatka, he re- 
turned by way of Kamtschatka and Siberia to St. 
Petersburg, in 1814. In return for his exertions 
and sufferings, he was promoted to the grade of 



206 A LEXICON OF 

captain of the second rank, (he had already been 
advanced to be captain-lieutenant, by order of se- 
niority), and was rewarded with an annual pension 
of 1500 roubles. In the year 1817 he was again 
sent out on a voyage round the world, in the sloop 
Kamtschatka, by way of the North sea, and in- 
structed to make reports of the Russian possessions 
in those parts. Golownin sailed from Cronstadt 
on the 26th of August, and returned on the 3rd of 
September, 1819, having fulfilled all the commis- 
sions with which he had been charged ; on which 
account he saw himself elevated on the 13th of Oc- 
tober in the same year, to the grade of a captain of 
the first rank. On the 13th of September, 1821, 
at the recommendation of the minister of the Ad- 
miralty, he was promoted to be captain-commander, 
and attached to the Marine Cadet Corps. His 
voyages in the Diana, from 1807 to 1814, are 
printed in three separate works : one under the 
title of The Voyage of the sloop Diana from Cron- 
stadt to Kamtschatka, in the years 1807, 1S0S, and 
1809 ; another, A Brief Account of the Kurile Is- 
lands, collected in the year 1811 ; and the third, 
The Description, by Captain Golownin, of his per- 
sonal Adventures and Sufferings during his Cap- 
tivity in Japan, in the years 1S11, 1812, and 1813, 
in three parts. The two first books were published 
in 1819, by and for the Admiralty department ; the 
third was published in 1816, by Golownin himself, 
and printed at the expense of his Imperial Ma- 
jesty. Herr Ricord published also in 1816, as a 
supplement to the last, A Narrative, by Captain 
Ricord, of his Voyage to the coasts of Japan, in the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 207 

years 1812 and 1813, and an account of his in- 
tercourse with the Japanese. Both these works 
have been translated into German and French. 
The very interesting voyage which Golownin made 
from Kamtschatka to America and back, in 1811, 
with a detailed account of the settlements of the 
Russian-America Company, was never printed, for 
particular reasons, and will probably never see the 
light. Fragments of his expedition in the sloop 
Kamtschatka are to be found in the Son of his 
Country, for the year 1820 ; and a full account of 
it is about to be published by the departments of 
the Imperial Admiralty. Hero Golownin is at pre- 
sent occupied in arranging the notes which he had 
collected on his early voyages, and intends to give 
them to the world by the title of Recollections of 
my Travels. 

Gortschakoff (Prince Dmitrj Petrowitsch), ma- 
jor out of service, member of the Society of the 
Lovers of the Russian Language, was born at Mos- 
cow, 1762, and received his education under the 
paternal roof. He wrote some theatrical pieces, as : 

1 . The Caliph for one Hour, an opera, Moscow, 1 786. 

2. The Lucky Draught of Fishes, an opera, Mos- 
cow, 1786. 3. The Woman Jaga, an opera, Mos- 
cow, 1788. 4. The Careless Man, a comedy, in five 
acts, in verse, played at St. Petersburg in 1801, but 
never printed. Besides this, he wrote the novel 
Plamir and Raida, 1796; and sundry lyrical and 
satirical poems, distinguished by richness of thought 
and a florid style. 

Goswinskj (Feodor Kassianowitsch), was transla- 
tor in the Greek and Polish languages at the am- 



208 A LEXICON OF 

bassador's college ; translated in 1608 iEsop's Fa- 
bles, from the Greek : and from the Polish, a work 
of the Pope Innocentius, called Tropnik, or A 
Short Ptoad to Salvation. A manuscript copy of the 
first of these translations is preserved in the library 
of the Academy of Alexander Newskj, and of the 
latter in the Synodal Library. 

Grammatin (Nikolaj), school-director at Kostro- 
ma, was author of the notes and annotations to 
the Legend of Igor and his Army, which appeared 
at Moscow in 1809, by which he cleared up satis- 
torily many points which had hitherto been left 
doubtful by other critics. 

Grekoff (Jurj). See Korobeinikoff. 

Gretsch (Nicolaj Iwanowitsch), councillor of 
state and knight, earned himself a high reputation 
by his studies in the Russian language and litera- 
ture. Among other things, he published, 1. The 
Manual of Russian Literature, or passages selected 
from original Russian works and translations, in 
prose and verse, with some Short Rules of Rhetoric 
and Poetry, and a History of Russian Literature, 
St. Petersburg, 1819-1822, price 4 dialers. This 
work has been translated into Polish, with addi- 
tions by Linde. It is in four volumes, and may be 
said to contain a complete little Russian library in 
itself, which we earnestly recommend to every fo- 
reigner who undertakes the study of Russian. 2. 
Lessons in the Russian Language, which appeared 
first under the name of Proof Sheets. 3. A Rus- 
sian translation of the councillor of state Adelung's 
Rapports entre la Langue Russe et la Langue San- 
scrit, St. Petersburg, 1811. Resides this, Ilerr Von 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 209 

Gretsch is the editor of the journals called The 
Northern Bee, and The Son of his Country; (see 
article Knashewitsch), in which last publication, in- 
dependently of the very copious and learned critical 
labours which he had contributed, are to be found 
also the sensible and witty Letters to the Caucasus. 
" At the flame of his critical lamp," says A. Bestus- 
cheff of this meritorious scholar, " more than one 
drone has singed his wings. The Russian language 
is indebted to him for having developed anew the 
rules of its grammar, which till his time had been 
involved in a multitudinous chaos by the old gram- 
marians. He paved also the way for a full and 
historical account of the customs and natural phe- 
nomena of Russia, by his publication of an attempt 
of the kind. In the belles lettres, properly so 
called, Gretsch has not indeed accomplished 
much ; but his Letters on a Journey through 
Germany and France, display an attentive observa- 
tion, and a keen critical acumen, with however 
almost too much conciseness and abruptness in his 
descriptions." A German translation of this last 
work, by E. Eurot, has been published by Brock- 
haus, by the title, Ausflucht elnes Russen nach 
Deutschland. Roman in Brief en. Leipzig, 1831, 
8vo. 

Gribojedoff (Fodor Iwanowitsch), served under 
the Czars Alexej Michailowitsch and Feodor Alex- 
cjewitsch, and took part in the composition of 
the Statute-book. He wrote An Abstract of the 
History of Russia, in thirty-six chapters ; which 
contains a short description of the condition of 
Russia from the Grand Prince Wladimir the First 



210 A LEXICON OF 

to the accession of the Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch, 
to whom also this work was dedicated, in the year 
1676. This abstract, however, did not appear in 
print, but a manuscript of it may be consulted in 
the library of Alexander Newskj. 

Gribojedoff (a poet) ; among other things he 
translated from the French the play called, Le Se- 
cret du Menage ; and wrote an original work in 
four parts, entitled, Trouble brought on by Clever- 
ness, a general picture of morals and manners, 
which L. Schneider translated into German by the 
name Kummer darch Verstand, in 1835 g . 

Grigorj (a deacon), composed in 1056 an Evan- 
gelium, for Ostromir the possadnik, or governor of 
Novogorod ; which is the oldest manuscript extant 
of the Sclavonic sacred books. It is preserved in 
the Imperial Public Library. 

Grigorj Samblack, or Semiwlack, metropolitan 
of Kieff, a Bulgarian by birth, was appointed and 
consecrated to this dignity through the recom- 
mendation of the Lithuanian Grand Prince Witowt, 
in the year 1416, and died in 1419. He lived in 
melancholy times for the interests of the Russian 
church, since the Lithuanians in his day were de- 
sirous of uniting it with the western church, and 
were doing all in their power to cause a division be- 
tween the hierarchy of Kieff and that of Moscow. 
Grigorj was a very pious, learned, and active man. 
Seven and twenty exhortations and panegyrics 
have descended to our time, which he delivered on 



e Gribojedoff also wrote one act of ;i comedy, in verse, in three acts, 
called Tlic Family Circle. Vide Schachofskoj, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 211 

various occasions, and which are preserved in the 
Synodal Library at Moscow. 

Grigorowitsch (Wassilj), was born at KiefT in 
1702, studied at the academy of that place, after- 
wards at Lemburg, and in 1724 was sent with a com- 
pany of pilgrims through Hungary and Austria to 
Rome. From thence Grigorowitsch travelled alone 
through Florence, Venice, Corfu, and Chios to the 
East, visited Mount Athos, sailed from Salonica 
in the year 1726 to Palestine, saw most of the cele- 
brated spots of the Holy Land, the island of Cyprus, 
Egypt and Arabia ; travelled through the whole of 
Syria, and visited all the islands of the Archipelago. 
In 1734 he was consecrated a monk at Damascus, 
staid six years in the isle of Patmos to occupy him- 
self undisturbed in scientific study, lived then one 
year at Constantinople, and having again paid a 
visit to some parts of Greece, returned through Rou- 
melia, Bulgaria, Moldavia, and Poland, to his na- 
tive country ; and after an absence of twenty-four 
years, found himself once more, on the 2nd of Sep- 
tember, 1747, at KiefT. He however remained only 
thirty-five days in his parental house, for he died 
on the 7th of October in the same year, of a tu- 
mour which he had brought on by the long jour- 
neys which he had made on foot. Of all his 
travels he kept a full and particular journal, 
in many places took sketches of the most re- 
markable features of the vicinity, and of the facades 
of the most celebrated buildings; all of which it 
had been his intention to arrange and publish after 
his return home, but his premature death prevented 
his accomplishment of the task. Copies however 

p2 



9A2 A LEXICON OF 

of his journals were gradually spread over the whole 
of Little Russia, fragments of them were inserted 
in the journals, and at last Herr Ptuben published 
the whole together at St. Petersburg, at the ex- 
pense of Prince Potemkin, under the following title, 
in 1778 : The Travels of the Pilgrim Wassilj Gri- 
gorowitsch Barskj, Plaka, Alboff, a monk of An- 
tioch, born at Kieff; containing his visits to the 
holy places in Europe, Asia, and Africa, begun in 
year 1723 and reaching to the year 1747, written 
by himself; a second edition appeared in 1785. 
The style of Grigorowitsch is such as it was the 
custom to write in Little Russia down to the mid- 
dle of the eighteenth century. It consists of a 
mixture of the Sclavonic, Polish, and Little-Rus- 
sian languages. 

Gusseff (Wladimir), took part in the year 1 497 
in the compilation of the Sudebnik, or, Statute- 
book of the Czar John Wassilj ewitsch, and was im- 
prisoned in the same year on suspicion of treason. 

Gusseff ; author of a treatise which is to be 
found in the European Courier of Katschenofskj, 
On the Metaphysical Systems of Germany. 

H. 

Hermann (Carl.), academician, professor at the 
University of St. Petersburg, inspector of classes at 
the place of education for noble ladies, and at the 
Institute of the Order of St. Katherine, councillor 
of state, and knight, was born at Dantzic, in 17'iT. 
He published the following works in the Russian 
language: 1. A Statistical Journal of the Russian 
Empire, in four parts, St. Petersburg, 1807. 2. A 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 213 

Statistical account of the Governmental Department 
of Jarosslaw, St. Petersburg, 1808. 3. A Geo- 
graphical and Statistical Description of the Cau- 
casus, extracted from the Travels of Giildenstadt, 
St. Petersburg, 1S09. 4. A Statistical Enquiry into 
the State of Education in the Russian Dominions, 
one part, St. Petersburg, 1819. Many of his es- 
says are printed in the Transactions of the Academy 
of Sciences, and in different periodicals. 

Heym (Johann), professor at the University of 
Moscow, councillor of state, and knight, was born 
at Brunswick in 1753, and died at Moscow in 1821. 
He compiled Dictionaries for the Russian, German, 
and French languages ; and altered a Russian Gram- 
mar for the use of foreigners, of which the first 
edition appeared in 1798, the second in 1804, and 
the third in 1816, at Leipsic and Riga, under the 
supervision of the imperial Russian titular coun- 
cillor, Sam. Weltzien. 3. The Russian Reading- 
book ; which contains select pieces in prose and 
verse, and a small dictionary attached. It came 
out at Riga in 1805. Besides this he published: 
1. An Introduction to the Science of Commerce, 
Moscow, 1804. 2. Abstract of a General Geo- 
graphy, two parts, Moscow, 1817. 3. An Abstract 
of the Statistics of the most celebrated Kingdoms, 
one part, Moscow, 1821. 

Hiob. See JofF. 

Holterhof (F.), author of the Russian Cella- 
rius, or Etymological Dictionary, in 8vo. 1771. 



214 A LEXICON OF 

I. 

Ignatj ; a deacon of the Russian metropolitan 
Pimen, lived in the fourteenth century. He ac- 
companied this metropolitan on his second voyage 
on the Don to Constantinople, in the year 1389, 
and described their journey with great fidelity. His 
account is to be found in the Chronicle of Nikon, 
and the other Latopisses. 

Ignatj Jowlewitsch ; archimandrite of the Mo- 
nastery of the Manifestation of Christ at Polotsk, 
lived in the middle of the seventeenth century, and 
in his time was looked up to with the highest re- 
spect. Of his writings, only some gratulatory ad- 
dresses to the Czar Alexej Michailowitsch and 
some other persons, are extant, and the Votum 
which he laid before the council at Moscow in de- 
fence of the Patriarch Nikon. These writings are 
printed in the third volume of the Ancient Russian 
Library. 

Ijewleff (Alexej Iwanowitsch), secretary ; was 
sent out with the bojar Nikiphor Matwejewitsch 
TolotschaninofF, at the command of the Czar 
Alexej Michailowitsch, in the year 1650, to Alex- 
ander, Prince of Imerethi. They composed a jour- 
nal of their expedition, which is preserved in the 
Synodal Library at Moscow. 

Il'in (Nikolaj Iwanowitsch), councillor of state 
and knight, member of several learned societies, 
was born in 1773. He wrote the following dramas: 
1. Lisa, or the Feast of Gratitude, in three acts, 
represented at St. Petersburg in 1802, and minted 
in 1803. 2. Magnanimity, or Raising Recruits, in 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 215 

three acts, represented in St. Petersburg in ISO 1, 
printed at Moscow in 1805 ; second edition at St. 
Petersburg, 1807. Of his translations, the follow- 
ing have been printed : 1. The Misanthrope in Love, 
in three acts, in imitation of Demoustier, Moscow, 
1S05. 2. Castles in the Air, a comedy, in five acts, 
after Colin d'Harleville, Moscow, 1S08. 3. The 
Gossip, a comedy, in one act, from Boissy, Moscow, 
1809. 4. Mistrust and Stratagem, a comedy, in one 
act, from Dela Foi, St. Petersburg, 1811. 5. The 
Supposititious Treasure, a comedy, in one act, from 
Hoffmann. 6. The Physiognomist and the Chi- 
romancer, a comedy, in one act, Moscow, 1816. 
In the year 1809 Il'in became editor of a journal 
at Moscow, entitled, The Children's Friend, of 
which twenty-four numbers appeared, and in which 
excellent translations of Berquin's works are met 
with. Il'in's dramas are distinguished by their 
faithful delineation of country manners, and their 
simple, natural, and conversational style. 

Innokentj Gisel, archimandrite of the Subterra- 
nean Monastery of KiefF, was born of protestant pa- 
rents, in what was formerly Polish Prussia, but came 
in his youth to KiefF, where he became a proselyte to 
the Greek-Russian church, and a monk in the mo- 
nastery at that place. He was sent to qualify himself 
for the office of teacher to the Academy of Lemburg, 
and after he had gone through a regular course of 
instruction there, he returned to KiefF, and ob- 
tained a teacher's place. In 1648, he was conse- 
crated igumen at the Brother-Monastery at KiefF, 
immediately received the office of a rector of the 
KiefF school, found himself nominated an archi- 



21G A LEXICON OF 

mandrite in 1672, and died in 1684, having ac- 
quired the title of benefactor and protector of this 
school. St. Dimitrj of Rostow, who was at that 
time only a hieromonach, composed and delivered 
a panegyrical discourse on the anniversary of his 
death, in 1685. Of Gisel's writings the best known 
is, A Synopsis, or short Description, of the origin 
of the Sclavonic People, and of the first Princes of 
KiefF to the time of the Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch. 
This book was first printed in the Subterranean 
Cloister of KiefF, and between 1718 and 1810, 
no less than ten editions of it were published. 
This work is entirely drawn from the writings 
of Polish authors, and is full of mis-statements 
and manifest errors ; nevertheless it was used 
generally in all schools, in the want of a better 
Russian History, until the time of Lomonossoff. 

Inochodzeff (Peter Borissowitsch), professor of 
astronomy, councillor of state, and knight, made two 
journeys to ascertain and determine the latitude and 
longitude of the towns of several governments of 
Russia. His labours in reference to these expedi- 
tions are printed in the Transactions and Calendars 
of the Academy. He died in 1806. 

Isaias (Jesaias), hieromonach of the Monastery 
of the Forty Martyrs, at Mount Athos, a Servian 
by birth, came in 1417 to Russia, which however 
he again quitted in 1419, and brought with him 
some Sclavonic books, amongst which is to be 
found his translation of the writings of Dionysius 
Arcopagites. Copies of this exist in the Synodal 
Library at Moscow, and in the library of the Aca- 
demy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 217 

Ismailoff (Alexander Jefimowitsch), collegiate 
councillor and knight, member of numerous learned 
societies, was born at Moscow, the 14th April, 
1779. He received his education from the year 
1792, in the Mining Corps; in 1799, was appointed 
to a place in the Revenue Department, (now called 
the Imperial Chamber,) and in that office still re- 
tains an official situation, as chief of one of the 
Bureaus. He began while very young to compose 
verses; in 1798, he published a romance, which 
was not too favourably received however by the 
public. He wrote among other Tales that of Poor 
little Mary, St. Petersburg, 1801 ; and Treatises, 
as for instance, a pamphlet on the subject of 
Pauperism, St. Petersburg, 1804; on the granting 
of Favours and Pensions, 1803, and so forth. In 
the years 1809 and 18 JO, he was conjoined with 
Benitzkj and Nikolskj in the editorship of the 
journal called the Flower-Bed. In 1812, he was 
the chief editor of the St. Petersburg Messen- 
ger, which was published for the societies of the 
Lovers of Russian Literature, and of the Sciences 
and Arts. Since 1818, he has been engaged upon 
the journal called The Right Thinker. Herr Is- 
mailoff, in the mean time, has not been idle in the 
composition of Fables and Russian Mahrehen. The 
first edition of these was printed at St. Petersburg, 
1804 ; the second in 1816; the third, with a sup- 
plement, On the Best way of Telling a Story, in 
1817, and the fourth in 1821. The Fables and 
Mahrehen of Ismailoff are for the most part trans- 
lations, adaptations, and imitations, and are written 
in a light and easy style. They are distinguished 



218 A LEXICON OF 

especially by the faithful representation of the 
character, the customs, and the vices of the lower 
orders ; and in these respects they are without a 
rival in the Russian language. 

Ismailoff (Wladimir Wassiljewitsch), Pr. Major 
out of service, censor of the Moscow Univer- 
sity, and member of several learned societies, 
was born at Moscow in 1773, and received an 
education in the study of foreign languages and 
the sciences under the parental roof. He is 
author of the Journey in the South of Russia, 
which he undertook in the year 1799, for his own 
amusement, and published in four parts, at Mos- 
cow, in 1802, and of which an enlarged and im- 
proved edition appeared in 1805. Besides this, he 
wrote the tales The Young Philosopher, and The 
Evening, or, The Family Walk, of which the first is 
printed in the European Messenger for the year 
1803. Of his translations the following are known : 
1. The Romance of Atala, or, The Lives of Two 
Savages in the Forest, by Chateaubriand, Moscow, 
1802. 2. Sketches of Europe, from Segur, Moscow, 
1802, three parts ; second edition, 1S05 ; and third 
edition, 1806. 3. A Discourse on the Indepen- 
dence of Men of Letters, from Millvois, translated 
into metre, Moscow, 1806. 4. Letters on Botany, 
by Rousseau, Moscow, 1810. In 1S01 he edited a 
journal for the instruction of youth, called The 
Patriot; in 1814, The European Messenger; and 
in IS 15, The European Museum. His transla- 
tions of various little pieces, which were inserted at 
different times in these and in other periodicals, 
he published collectively in IS19 and 1820, by 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 219 

the title of The Prose Translations of Wladimir 
Ismailoff, Moscow. He died at Moscow in the April 
of 1830. The following short and picturesque 
description of the Brother-Colony of Sarepta, which 
we have translated for the reader, we have ventured 
to insert in this place, as being better calculated to 
convey an idea of Ismailoff's natural and simple 
style, than any critical remarks which it might be 
in our power to make. 

The Brother-Colony at Sarepta, from the Russian 
of W. W. Ismailoff. 
" The triumph of human society is the evan- 
gelical congregation on the banks of the Ssarpa. 
A friendly little town with low-roofed houses, 
sufficient inhabitants, who live neither in super- 
fluity, nor indigence, who are happy through their 
simplicity, and engaged not in the speculations of 
science, but in necessary handicrafts ; a place where 
the virtues dwell, the arts flourish, and the society 
of men is a society of brothers, — this is Sarepta. 
Here we meet at every step hospitality, industry, 
the love of order and peace, tranquillity in the 
dwellings, cleanliness in the streets, simplicity and 
neatness in attire, and the expression of the heart 
on every face. Here, as each settler passes with 
his grey coat, his gracious countenance, and sturdy 
gait, the sentiment of Rousseau occurs to the 
mind, That he must be the happiest of mortals, 
who distils into the depths of his heart the true 
repose of life. Here, as each sister glanced by me, 
with her light corset, her simple cap fastened under 
the chin, and the angel look of innocence, I 



220 A LEXICON OF 

thought to myself, ' there is the woman with whom 
I could share my heart, my existence, and my 
identity.' In a few minutes the good-citizenship of 
these quiet people evinces itself. You see through 
a window a fire on a hearth. From curiosity, 
you enter. A woman of Sarepta, in an apron 
white as snow, and with hands equally white, is 
preparing a meal in the kitchen. But who is this — 
a cook, or a maid ? No ! the mistress of the house 
herself, — the mother of a numerous family, and by 
no means the least among the community. You 
linger gazing before a little house, which attracts 
you by its aspect of sobriety, and a neat apartment 
is opened, which contains no speck of dust — all 
clean and elegant ; the table of beautifully grained 
wood; the chests against the wall; and, under glass, 
what, think you ? Bread. On the other side of 
the street, one of the great men of the colony is 
meeting one of the lowest craftsmen, with bro- 
therly friendship, and their mutual politeness and 
respect prevent all thought of their difference of 
rank." * * * * * 

IwANOFF(Feodor Feodorowitsch), collegiate coun- 
cillor, was born in June 1777, received an education 
at the Moscow University, and served afterwards in 
the guards. In 1792 he changed into the line, 
with the rank of captain, and was engaged in the 
campaign of Finland. In 1797 he took his leave, 
and died the 31st of August, 181G, at Moscow. 
IwanofT wrote the following pieces : 1. Virtue Re- 
warded, or a Woman such as there are few in 
the World; a drama, in three acts, Moscow, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 221 

1805. 2. The Old-fashioned Family, a drama, in 
one act, Moscow, 1806. 3. The Bridegrooms, 
or, Live and Learn, a comedy, in one act, Mos- 
cow, 1808. 4. All is not Gold that glitters, a 
comedy, in three acts, Moscow, 1808. 5. Marwa 
Possadniza, or, The Subjugation of Novogorod, a 
tragedy, in five acts, Moscow, 1 809. 6. The Rob- 
bers, a tragedy, in five acts, from the French, Mos- 
cow, 1809. Of these pieces, the two first espe- 
cially, were received with immense applause at 
the Moscow theatre. Iwanoff translated into 
verse Voltaire's tragedy of Merope, but the manu- 
script was unfortunately burnt at the time of the 
French invasion. Afterwards he again undertook 
the same task, and completed three acts, but death 
prevented him from finishing the undertaking. 
Another translation of Merope, on which the tra- 
gedy as now represented is founded, exists by Sergj 
Nikiphorowitsch Marin, who died in the year 
1813. 

J. 

Jakubowitsch published some ancient Russian 
Poems at Moscow in 1804. The second edition of 
them was brought out under the care of Kalaido- 
witsch, in 1818, in 4to. 

JASTitEBZOFF(Iwan Iwanowitsch), collegiate coun- 
cillor and knight, chancery-director in the com- 
mission for the superintendence of the clerical 
schools, member of the Russian Academy, studied 
from 1787 to 1799 at the Clerical Academy at 
Moscow ; and was for seven years teacher of the 
senior French class at the same place. lie did a 



222 A LEXICON OF 

great service to Russian literature by his excellent 
translation of Select Sermons of Massillon, bishop 
of Clermont, which appeared in print, in three parts, 
at St. Petersburg, in 1S09, by desire of the Em- 
peror. 

Jasukoff (Dmitrj Iwanowitsch), collegiate coun- 
cillor and knight, chief of one Bureau in the Edu- 
cational Department, was born in 1773, and studied 
at the University of Moscow. In 1797 he entered 
the military profession, and from the year 1802 has 
belonged to the above-mentioned department. He 
earned the especial regard of his countrymen by 
his numerous translations into Russian, of foreign 
books connected with the subject of Russian his- 
tory. The most important of these is Schlozer's 
Nestor. Besides this he also translated: 1. Bec- 
caria's work upon Crimes and Punishments, St. 
Petersburg, 1803. 2. Montesquieu's Esprit des 
Lois, Moscow, 1810. He took likewise a part in 
the editorship of The Northern Messenger, 1804 
and 1805, and of The Dramatic Messenger, 1808. 
See article Rumanzoff. 

Jazenkoff (M.), translated recently the third 
part of Antenor's Travels in Greece and Asia, from 
the French of Lautier. The two first parts had 
been already translated into Russian by MakarofF. 

Jefimjeff (Dmitrj Wladimirowitsch), was colo- 
nel of artillery, and educated in the Land Cadet 
Corps. He is author of the following comedies : 
1. The Criminal in Jest, or, The Sister Sold by 
her Brother. 2. A Continuation of the Sister Sold 
by her Brother. 3. The Traveller, or, Education 
without Fruits. These pieces have been played at 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 223 

the St. Petersburg theatre with great applause. 
The first of them was printed in 17SS, and is dis- 
tinguished by a light and lively style. This author 
died in 1804. 

Jelagin (Iwan Perfiljewitsch), acting privy coun- 
cillor, senator, and knight, upper palace- master, 
and superior director of the court-chapel and 
theatre, member of numerous literary societies, 
was born in 1728, and received his education in 
the Land Cadet Corps. He made himself especially 
famous through his translations, which in his own 
time were considered perfect models in point of 
style. Of these the best known are : 1. The Free- 
thinker, a tragedy, from Der Freigeist, of the Ger- 
man Brawe, St. Petersburg, 1771. 2. Anecdotes 
of the Marquis G., or, The Biography of a Noble- 
man who had forsworn the World, four parts, first 
edition, St. Petersburg, 1756. 3. The Man Hater, 
Moscow, 1788. But the most generally known of 
his works is, 4. An Attempt at a History of Russia, 
printed at Moscow in 1803, which he began to write 
in 1790, but only brought down to the year 1389, 
i. e.' to the death of the Grand Prince Dimitrj Jo- 
hannowitsch Donskoj. This production consisted 
in the manuscript of five parts, or fifteen books. 
The first part of it embraces the Russian history 
to the death of Wladimir Swatoslawitsch, printed 
at Moscow in 1803. This work was much es- 
teemed, so long as it was not printed ; but after its 
regular publication, the favourable opinion of the 
public was much lowered. The author adheres 
throughout to Tatischtscheff, to the suppositi- 
tious Chronicle of Joachim, and several other works 



224 A LEXICON OF 

of doubtful authenticity. Moreover, he himself stated 
the most improbable facts, asserted that the Sclaves 
had occupied the site of the town of Troy before 
that place was built, and while he was constantly 
accusing other writers of partiality and falsehood, 
committed these faults with most unwarrantable 
license himself. The style of this work, taken as a 
whole, is too tumid, and for history too oratorical, 
besides being not uniformly correct. It must how- 
ever be remembered, that this .book had the dis- 
advantage of being printed from a faulty manuscript 
copy 11 . His translations have the peculiarity of ex- 
hibiting a language in which many Sclavonic words 
are mixed with a style generally pure ; the con- 
struction is often complicated, and many expres- 
sions are used in a forced or false meaning. The 
public nevertheless read them with pleasure, al- 
though forced to confess that they were no models 
of perfect prose writing. At present their sole 
merit is to show the state to which Russian prose 
composition had advanced seventy years ago. Je- 
lagin died the 22nd of September, 1796. 

Jesaias. See Isaias. 

Joff (Hiob), first Russian patriarch, was conse- 
crated in 1581 bishop of Kolomna, in 1586 as arch- 
bishop of Rostow, in 1587 moved to Moscow as 
metropolitan, and in 1589 elevated to the rank of 
patriarch of all Russia. In the year 1605, the 
Pseudo-Dimitrj displaced him, because he refused 
to recognise him as Czar, and confined him in the 



11 Copious details on the subject of tliis history may be found in Ricli- 
llnssian Misei Hairy, No. vi pagi 18 I. I I seq. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 225 

monastery of St. Mary, at Starez, where he died, 
the 8th of March, 1607. This patriarch wrote the 
Life of the Czar Feodor Johannowitsch, which is 
to be found in the Chronicle of Nikon. His Ori- 
ginal Testament, in which he described his own 
life, is printed in the sixth volume of the Ancient 
Russian Library. 

Johann, a priest of Novogorod, was, according to 
Tatischtscheff's conjecture, one of the continua- 
tors (or rather transcribers) of the Chronicle of 
Nestor. 

Johann (Wassiljewitsch Lewanda), archpriest of 
the cathedral of St. Sophia, at Kieff, and knight 
of the order of St. Anne, first class, was born at 
KiefF, in 1736, and studied at the academy there, 
at which he was afterwards appointed as a teacher. 
In 1763 he received consecration as priest at the 
cathedral of the Ascension of the Virgin, in Podo- 
lia. In 1783 he was made archpriest, and in 1786 
translated to the cathedral of St. Sophia, at Kieff. 
In 1787, on the occasion of Catherine the Second's 
journey through Kieff, he received the cross of the 
red ribband, in 1798 the mitre, and in 1810 the 
order of St. Anne. He died the 25th of June, 1814. 
Lewanda was the author of a number of sermons, 
and gratulatory addresses, which were published at 
St. Petersburg, in three parts, in 1 82 1 . His writings 
are rich in powerful and deep feeling, and entirely 
new and original thoughts. His style is not so 
pure as that of some other modern preachers ; but 
this defect is more than compensated by his true 
eloquence, which rivets the understanding, and 
readies the heart. 



226 A LEXICON OF 

Johannikj Galatofskj died about the year 1671, 
archimandrite of Novogorod-Sawersk, was a re- 
nowned theologian in his time, and wrote many 
dogmatical and polemical books, in the Polish lan- 
guage and the White-Russian dialect. In 1671 he 
was summoned to Moscow, where he delivered a 
sermon before the court, which he dedicated, toge- 
ther with a gratulatory discourse, to the Czar Alexej 
Michailowitsch. 

Joseph (Sanin), first igumen of the monastery of 
Wolokolam, which he built himself, was born in 
1440, and died in 1516, on the 9th of September. 
This holy man distinguished himself by the pious 
zeal which he displayed in the persecution of the 
judaizing-sect in the fifteenth century. He com- 
posed a copious history of the rise, progress, and 
consequences of their heresies ; and besides this, 
fifteen discourses in refutation of their doctrines, 
under the title of The Enlightener. These writings 
are to be found in manuscript in the Synodal Library 
of Novogorod, and in the Alexander Library at St. 
Petersburg. An extract from them, and a table of 
contents of all the fifteen discourses of St. Joseph, 
are printed in the fourteenth and sixteenth parts of 
the Ancient Russian Library. 

Jowlewitsch. See Ignatj. 

K. 

Kaisoroff (M.), the translator of Sterne. 

Kalaidowitsch, an antiquarian, is author of the 
following work : Archaeological Enquiries into the 
curiosities of the Government of Rasan. See Jaku- 
bowitsch, Malinofskj, and Strqjeif. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 227 

Kalatilin. See L'woff. 

Kaloschnikoff (G.), author of the historical ro- 
mance, The Daughter of the Merchant Scholoboff; 
translated into German, Leipsic, 1833, two vols, in 
four parts. The scene of this romance is interest- 
ing from the circumstance of its lying in Siberia. 

Kantemir (Prince Antiochus Dmitrijewitsch), 
the first poet of his time, deserves to live in the 
recollection of all posterity. His father, (who was 
born in 1673, and died in 1723, a hospodar of 
Moldavia 1 ), together with the rest of the family, 
became a subject of Russia, and was a very 
learned man, understanding many European and 
Asiatic languages, and having written some books 
on historical and philosophical subjects. Prince 
Antiochus Dmitrijewitsch was born on the 10th 
of September, 1708, at Constantinople; received 
his scientific education first of all at Charkow, 
under the Greek priest Anastassj Kondoida, who 
emigrated with his father, and afterwards at the 
Academy of Moscow, where, when he was scarcely 
ten years old, he composed a panegyric, in the 
Greek language, upon the martyr Dimitrj, which 
attracted the attention and praise of all the teachers. 
The author of ten years old was allowed to re- 
cite it before the public in the church of the 
Academy. In the year 1 722 he went with his fa- 
ther to the Persian war, and after his return from 
thence, devoted himself exclusively to the sciences. 
In 1725 he went as a student to the Academy of 



' The family is originally Turkish. The name Kantemir is coin- 
DOUnded of two words signifying blond and iron. 

q2 



228 A LEXICON OF 

Sciences at St. Petersburg, where he attended the 
public lectures, but in private occupied himself in 
studying the literature of his country, under the 
direction of the academical translator, I wan Il'inskj. 
In the mean time his name had been enrolled in 
the guards, and in 1728 he entered the regiment 
of the Preobraschenskj-guard as lieutenant. His 
distinguished talents, as well as his zeal in the ser- 
vice, attracted the attention of the Empress Anna 
Iwanowna. In 1731 he found himself appointed 
resident minister at the court of London ; in 1732 
he was made envoy-extraordinary and minister- 
plenipotentiary at the same court; and in 173S 
was changed to the French court in the same 
capacity. The Empress Anna Iwanowna appointed 
him a chamberlain ; and Anna, the Regent, made 
him a privy councillor. The Empress Elizabeth 
Petrowna confirmed him in these dignities, and 
made him minister. He died the 1st of March, 
1744, at Paris, of dropsy on the chest, which 
he in vain endeavoured to cure by drinking the 
waters of Aix-la-Chapelle. His body was brought 
to Moscow, and buried in the Greek monastery 
there. Amidst his numerous and important official 
duties, Kantemir still devoted himself unremittingly 
to literature, and especially to that of Russia, of 
which he found but few true worshippers among 
his contemporaries, and no models worthy of his 
imitation. His writings (with the exception of 
some diplomatic papers which have been preserved 
in manuscript by some of the friends of Russian 
history) are the following: 1. Eight Satires, written 
in rhyme and in syllabic metre, consisting of thir- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 229 

teen stanzas each. They appeared in 1762 at St. Pe- 
tersburg, in print, under the title, Satires and other 
little Poems of Knas Antioch Kantemir, with Jiis- 
torical notes, and a short biographical notice of 
the author. These satires were translated into 
French, at Paris, during the life-time of the author. 
2. The Epistles of Horace, together with an Epis- 
tle on the Art of Poetry in Paissia, printed under 
the assumed name of Chariton Makentin, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1744 and 1788. 3. Conversations on the 
Plurality of Worlds, a treatise by Fontenelle, with 
original notes by the translator, printed at Moscow, 
1730, and St. Petersburg, 1761. Besides these, he 
left many translations in manuscript; as for in- 
stance, The Lives of Cornelius Nepos : Justin's 
Ancient History : Anacreon's Odes : Epictetus' Mo- 
ral Philosophy : Montesquieu's Persian Letters: Al- 
garotti's Discourses on the Universe; and many 
others. Kantemir may claim the undisputed right 
of being called the founder of profane writing in 
Russian. His fame has not only not been dimmed 
by the lapse of time, but shines on the contrary 
with double brilliance now, because he remains 
original and inimitable, and even to the present 
day has no competitor to rival him in the heights 
of the Russian Parnassus. The most distinguished 
writers of more recent times have given him, with 
one consent, the honour which is his due. Schisch- 
koff has given us the most beautiful passages in 
a series of extracts from his works ; Shukofskj 
threw light upon his writings, from the bright torch 
of criticism ; and BatjuschkofF sketched with his 
graceful pen the excellencies of this poet, when 



230 A LEXICON OF 

he was in communication with the bels esprits of 
France, whom he astonished by his talents and his 
devoted love of Russia, and when he prophesied to 
them the future greatness of this mistress of the 
north. The most remarkable productions of Kan- 
temir are his Satires. Shukofskj says of them, 
"Kantemir's Satires may be divided into two classes 
• — the philosophical and descriptive. In the first 
class, in the sixth and seventh satires, for instance, 
the writer shows himself to us as a philosopher ; 
and in the other (particularly in the first, second, 
third, and fourth) as a correct painter of the 
vices of mankind. He gives forcible and brief ex- 
pression to his thoughts, drawn from common life, 
and almost always gives them life and anima- 
tion by his pictures and comparisons. All his 
characters are drawn with a strongly-marked out- 
line. Sometimes perhaps in his sketches and pic- 
tures a too copious and overflowing style may be 
objected to him. His mode of writing is very di- 
versified ; at one moment he speaks in his own 
person, in the next he introduces persons trans- 
acting business; at one time he delights us with 
a gush of poetry, at another he amuses us by 
writing an epistle. In respect of his language 
and the structure of his verse, Kantemir must be 
reckoned among the ancient class of poets ; but in 
regard to the art he displays, he belongs to the 
most modern and most accomplished. In reading 
his satires, we see before us the scholar of Horace 
and Juvenal, who is perfectly acquainted with all 
the rules of the poetical art, as well as with all the 
best models both in ancient and modern poetry." 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 23i 

Of Kantemir's productions in prose, the translation 
of Fontenelle's work On the Plurality of Worlds is 
decidedly the best known. This translation is dif- 
ficult in its style, but deserves attention because it 
shows the condition of the Russian language at the 
time when it was written ; and in comparing it 
with the language used in later times, makes us 
doubly sensible of the force of genius and the true 
greatness of Lomonossoff. Kantemir's own pre- 
face to this work is written in a much more flowing 
and easy style. What would he not have accom- 
plished, if Providence had lengthened his days, or 
if he had been born twenty years later ! 

Kapnist (Wassilj Wassiljewitsch), councillor of 
state, member of the Russian Academy, and of 
many other learned societies, a friend and relation 
of Dershawin, may be reckoned among the num- 
ber of the most distinguished lyric poets of Rus- 
sia. His poems, which certainly do not possess 
all the fascination and boldness of Dershawin, 
are yet very attractive by a certain enthusiastic 
sentiment which pervades them, and deserve espe- 
cial regard from the copiousness and purity of 
the style. The odes and other compositions of 
Kapnist were printed at St. Petersburg, in 1 SOG, 
by the title, The Lyric Poems of Wassilj Kapnist. 
Besides this he wrote, in 1799, the comedy so well 
known, on account of its biting satire, called The 
Perverters of Right, Schikanen, and in 1815, the 
tragedy of Antigone. This much-esteemed poet 
lived for many years at his country residence 
Obuchowka in Little Russia, where, adorning his 



232 A LEXICON OF 

old age with the intercourse of the Muses, he died 
on the 28th of October, 1823. 

Karamsin (Nikolaj Michailowitsch), Imperial 
Russian historiographer, councillor of state, and 
knight, member of many learned societies, was born 
on the 1st December, 1765, in the governmental 
department of Simbirsk. He received his educa- 
tion at Moscow as an indoors pupil of Professor 
Schaden, and afterwards completed his course of 
instruction at the university of the same place. 
After having served for some years in the guards, 
as officer, he made a tour, from 1789 to 1791 
through Germany, Switzerland, England, France, 
and Italy, and afterwards settled at Moscow, and 
occupied himself with literary pursuits. In the year 
1803 he was made historiographer of the empire, 
in the following year he received the title of aulic 
councillor, in 1810 he was decorated with the order 
of St. Wladimir, third class; in 1812 he became 
collegiate councillor, and in 1S16, when he pre- 
sented the eight first volumes of his History of 
Russia to the Emperor Alexander, he was ap- 
pointed councillor of state, and received the order 
of St. Anne, first class. After this he continued 
to live at St. Petersburg, at which place he died 
the 3rd of June, 1826, in the Taurian Palace. 
The Emperor Alexander, a short time before, had 
granted him, by means of a ukase of the 25th of 
May, on the occasion of his intended visit to some 
foreign baths, a yearly pension of 50,000 roubles, 
with the condition that this sum should be con- 
tinued to be paid to him, to his wife, and after their 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 233 

death, to their children, without diminution ; to the 
sons till such time as they should enter the public 
service, and to the daughters, until the marriage of 
the youngest of them. Karamsin began while ex- 
ceedingly young, to busy himself in the literature of 
his country ; and the time which others devote to 
the pursuit of honours and riches, he consecrated 
to the sciences. Besides his grand work, The His- 
tory of the Empire of Russia, (as a companion to 
which, the first part of a Historical, Chronolo- 
gical, and Geographical Atlas, has just appeared by 
Achmatoff, at St. Petersburg 1 "), a complete collec- 
tion of his works was published in 1804, of which 
the second edition came out in 1815, and a third 
in 1820, in nine volumes. This collection contains : 
1. Poems, chiefly lyrical. 2. Letters of a Russian 
Traveller, in four parts, 1797, translated into Ger- 
man, by John Richter, Leipsic, 1800. 3. Tales: 
as Poor Elizabeth ; The Beautiful Princess ; The 
Fortunate Dwarf; Julie; The Impenetrable Forest ; 
Natalie, the Bojar's Daughter ; Sierra Morena ; 
The Island Bornholm and Marwa Posadniza, or 
the Subjugation of Novogorod ; which last is con- 
sidered the best. 4. Historical Panegyrics upon 
Catherine the Second. 5. A Discourse on Fortune. 
6. Upon Bogdanowitsch and his Writings. 7. His- 
torical Fragments on the Insurrection of Moscow, 
under the reign of Alexej Michailowitsch ; The 
Pantheon of Russian Authors ; Antiquities of Rus- 
sia ; Historical Recollections, and Remarks on a 
Journey to the Monastery of Troizka. 8. A Dis- 

k Vide article AclnnutolV. 



234 A LEXICON OF 

course delivered at a Meeting of the Russian Aca- 
demy, &c. &c. Besides these, there are printed in 
this collection smaller prose compositions on differ- 
ent subjects, which are to be found in the journals 
which Karamsin edited. In Moscow, he was the 
editor of: 1. The Moscow Journal, eight volumes, 
from 1792 to 1793. His own articles in this jour- 
nal were published separately, in 1794, under the 
title of Trifles. 2. Aglaia, or various composi- 
tions in prose and verse, two volumes, 1794 ; 
translated into German by Ferdinand von Bieden- 
feld, Leipsic, 1829, 8vo. 3. Aonides, or a Col- 
lection of various Poems, in three parts, 1797, 
1799. 4. The Pantheon of Foreign Belles Let- 
tres, three small volumes, 1798. 5. The European 
Messenger, a political and literary journal, in 
twelve volumes, 1802 and 1803. Of his transla- 
tions which are printed in these journals, many are 
also to be found in the journal called Reading for 
Children. The following have also been printed 
separately; Marmontel's Tales, Moscow, 1794, 

1815. 2. Tales of Madame de Genlis, Moscow, 

1816. 3. Tales by Different Authors, Moscow, 
1816. But his most important work, to which he 
devoted the whole of his time from the year 1803, 
is his History of the Empire of Russia, in eight 
volumes, St. Petersburg, 1S16, 1818; second edi- 
tion, 1S19 and 1820. The ninth volume appeared 
in 1821, and the tenth and eleventh in 1823. After 
the death of the author, Diwoff undertook the 
continuation of the work. The history was imme- 
diately on its appearance translated into German 
by Haucnschild, into Polish by Buczynski, and 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 235 

into French by Jauffret and St. Thomas. Lelewel 
has given a critique of this work in Nos. 19, 20, 
and 21 of the Northern Archives of the year 
1823. See article Bulgarin. With Karamsin begins 
an entirely new epoch in the history of Russian 
literature, since he created the modern Russian 
prose, and in his history of the Russian em- 
pire, gave an example of a style at once light, 
clear, pure, elevated, and agreeable. At first his 
writings, which found numerous, but few successful 
imitators, aroused the opposition of those who 
were accustomed to the prose of Lomonossoff 1 
and his contemporaries : but in the sequel, the 
general voice of the enlightened public discovered 
and proclaimed that Karamsin's style was far from 
being a mere imitation of foreign originals, but 
was grounded on a deep acquaintance with the pe- 
culiarities and necessities of the Russian language, 
set forth with the finest taste, and resting on the 
rules of universal grammar. In his earliest works, 
especially in the Letters of a Russian Traveller, 
many foreign expressions are to be found : only the 
style of his later compositions and translations, but 
especially his Russian History, may be cited as 
perfect models. We would not venture to assert 
that Karamsin has even yet attained to the highest 
degree of perfection. The Russian language may 
continue to be enriched with new expressions and 
new forms, and be advanced far beyond the point to 
which it has at present attained ; but the name and 
the efforts of Karamsin will shine by their own 
light throughout all futurity, by the side of those of 

1 LomonossoflTdiedl76. r >, the sunc year in which Karamsin was born. 



236 A LEXICON OF 

a Kantemir and a Lomonossoff. The works of Ka- 
ramsin had a most extraordinary influence upon his 
his contemporaries. The fair sex also of Russia 
were attracted and stimulated by them to occupy 
themselves with the elegant literature of their 
country, and laid the foundation for the cultivated 
and improved taste of the present age. We trust 
we shall be excused for introducing here a short 
specimen of the manner of Karamsin, extracted 
from the Travels of a Russian. The reader must 
bear in mind that his style was, at the time 
when this was written, not yet in its highest 
state of perfection ; but there is a simple strain 
of eloquence in the description, which can hardly 
fail to interest and please. 

The last of the race of Bubenburg, from the Rus- 
sian of Karamsin. 
" On the southern bank of the Lake of Thun, 
the old castle of Spitz towers into the air, which 
once belonged to the family of Bubenburg, one of 
the oldest and most distinguished of the republic 
of Bern. Many of the Bubenburgs had done 
good service for their country, and shed their 
blood for her glory. The latest scions of this 
house were Leonhard, and his sister Amalia, both 
young, and both beautiful. All the noble families 
of Bern were eager to court their alliance. At 
last Leonhard, in the true devotion of his heart, 
espoused a daughter of the house of Krlach, and 
his sister accepted the hand of that lady's brother. 
Their marriages were fixed for one and the same 
day ; a general festivity did honour to the occa- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 237 

sion, on which the two first families of the land 
were to be united ; all proclaimed the happiness of 
the equally young and equally beautiful pairs. The 
rejoicings on that day were ceaseless. After the 
splendour of the marriage ceremony, the newly- 
wedded pairs with all their guests embarked on a 
party of pleasure on the lake of Thun. The 
heaven was bright and clear. A cooling wind invi- 
gorated the rowers, and played with the ringlets of 
the young and happy pairs. Gently-swelling waves 
foamed under the bows of the boat. Presently the 
day declined, and still the gay party found them- 
selves wider and wider from the shore. The sun 
went down ; — and on a sudden, as if from the 
depths of hell, a storm arose, and roared aloud with 
the thunder. The lake uprose in tumult, and a 
chill panic seized the steersman of the boat. He 
endeavoured to gain the shore, but utter darkness 
concealed it from his sight. The oars dropped 
from the hands of the exhausted watermen, and 
billow after billow threatened the boat with destruc- 
tion. What a condition for those loving pairs ! 
At first they encouraged the rowers and the helms- 
man, and lent them their assistance ; but when they 
saw that all their endeavours were in vain, they 
put their fates into the hands of God, dried up the 
last tears which life could claim from them, and 
locked in each others' arms, awaited death. Soon 
a gigantic wave swept over the boat — and all sunk ; 
— all except one solitary boatman, who was fortu- 
nate enough to reach the shore, and lived to tell 
the melancholy tale. Thus ended the race of Bu- 
benburg. Their castle passed into the possession 



238 A LEXICON OF 

of the family of Erlach, which is still one of the 
most powerful and illustrious in the canton of 
Bern. With sad and pensive thoughts I paced 
around this castle. The wind was whistling through 
its deserted walls." 

Katenin (Pawel, Paul, Alexandrowitsch), colo- 
nel and knight, was born at St. Petersburg, the 
1 lth of December, 1792, and educated in his pa- 
rents' house. In 1816 he entered the public ser- 
vice, and 1819 was already titular councillor; 
in the following year, however, he entered into 
the military profession, served in the regiment of 
the Preobrashenskj-guard, and in 1820 was pro- 
moted to the rank of colonel, on attaining which, 
he took his leave of the army. His first poems 
are printed in the Zwatnik or Nosegay of 1S10 ; on 
the 3rd of February, 1811, his first dramatic pro- 
duction Ariadne, a tragedy in verse, in five acts, 
imitated from Corneille, was represented. After 
this, he wrote at several different times several 
other pieces for the dramatic boards. 1. Esther, 
a tragedy, in verse, imitated from Racine. 2. 
Calumnies, a comedy, in three acts, in verse, in 
imitation of Le Mediant, by Gresset. He also 
took part in the translation of the tragedies, The 
Horatii, and Medea: of all these, only two have as 
yet been printed ; viz., Esther, St. Petersburg, 
1816; and Calumnies, 1S21. His poems uncon- 
nected with the stage, have appeared from year to 
year, for the most part, in the Son of the Country, 
and in the European Messenger. 

Katschenofskj (Michael Trofmiowitsch), Pro- 
fessor of Antiquities at the University of Moscow, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 239 

member of the Russian Academy, and many other 
learned societies, and knight, was born at Charkow, 
1775, and educated at the college of that place. 
From 1793 to 1795, he served in the governmental 
administration of Charkow, till 1801 he followed 
the military profession, which he left again, as re- 
gimental quarter-master. In 1805 he took the 
degree of Master, and afterwards of Doctor of 
Philosophy and Polite Literature in the University 
of Moscow. In 1 808, he became adjunct at that 
University; in 1810, extraordinary Professor; and 
in 1811, ordinary Professor of the Fine Arts, Archae- 
ology, and afterwards of Russian History also. 
Since 1805, Herr Katschenofskj became the edi- 
tor of the European Messenger. In 1808, 1809, 
and 1810, he only took part in the labour with 
Herr Shukofskj, and in 1814 he handed over the 
entire editorship to Ismailoff. He was also the 
translator of several works from the French, as 
The Athenian Letters, Moscow, 1817, and pub- 
lished many single collections of Tales, Anecdotes, 
&c. which he inserted in his Journal, as well as a 
Greek Chrestomathy, which went through several 
editions. He earned the regard and gratitude of 
the Russian public, especially by his conducting of 
the European Messenger, which holds the first 
place in the number of Russian journals, and con- 
tains many interesting articles. The original 
essays of Katschenofskj which are to be found in 
the Messenger, and in the Transactions of the 
Moscow Society for the Lovers of Literature, 
namely, A Treatise on the Ancient Russian Litera- 
ture, and another, Upon the Panegyrical Orations 



240 ' A LEXICON OF 

of LomonossofF and many others, assure to him 
an honourable place amongst the writers of Rus- 
sian history, and the connoisseurs of literature. 

Klimofskj (Semen), a Cossack of Little Russia, 
lived about the year 1724, and was a pupil of 
nature in the poetical art. He composed some 
songs ; as for instance, " I wish for nothing, but only 
thee,"and a poem "On the honesty and high-minded- 
ness of the beneficent," written in syllabic verse, of 
which the manuscript is preserved in the Impe- 
rial Library. Klimofskj distinguished himself among 
his countrymen by his understanding and virtues, 
and his favourite maxim was, " Good for ourselves, 
ill to nobody, is the right way to live." 

Kluschin (Alexander), imperial councillor, died 
in 1804. He wrote two comedies, in verse, viz.: 
1. Disgrace and Misfortune, St. Petersburg, 1759, 
and 2. The Obliging Man, St. Petersburg, 1801. 
He also took part in the editorship of the St. Peters- 
burg Mercury, and the Spectator, St. Petersburg, 
1792, and composed some lyric poems. 

Knashewitsch (Dmitrj), author of Russian 
Synonymes, and editor of the supplementary sheets 
of the Son of the Country, the journal edited by 
the councillor of state, Von Gretsch. These sup- 
plementary sheets contain a well-chosen selection 
of tales, and are distinguished by a pure and 
fluent style of writing. 

Knashnin (JakofF Borissowitsch), imperial coun- 
cillor, and member of the Russian Academy, was 
born at Pskow, the 3rd of October, 1742, received 
his first instructions in the house of his father, 
the privy councillor of state Boriss Iwanowitseh 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 211 

Knashnin, and afterwards at St. Petersburg, under 
Professor Moderach. After being well grounded 
in the modern languages, he applied himself sedu- 
lously to French, German, and Italian literature, 
and began writing verses while he was yet a school- 
boy. After he had completed his studies, he served 
first in the College of Foreign Affairs, and at the 
Comptoir of Architectural Improvements. Then he 
entered into the military profession, and became 
captain and adjutant-general. At this period he 
wrote his tragedy of Dido, which attracted the at- 
tention of Catherine II. In the course of a 
journey which he made to Moscow, on some private 
business, he made the acquaintance of Sumarokoff, 
whose personal friendship he obtained, and whose 
lessons and advice he turned to advantage, and 
afterwards married his daughter. Soon after this 
he quitted the public service, and occupied himself 
exclusively with literature ; but this tranquillity did 
not last long. Bezkoj took him as his private secre- 
tary, and associated him in the undertakings which 
he was prosecuting with so much advantage to 
mankind. In the mean time, he did not desist to 
occupy himself with poetry. The tragedy Ross- 
lafF was written by him in the midst of official 
occupations, and the distractions of the public ser- 
vice. Dmitrefskj by his genius in the performance 
of the part of RosslafF, completed the triumph 
of Knashnin. In the year 1783, the Russian 
Academy chose him to be one of its members, and 
he took a part in the compilation of the great dic- 
tionary on which they were employed ; still the 
dramatic art remained his chief and favourite oc-~ 



242 A LEXICON OF 

cupation. At the request of the Empress, he 
translated in three weeks, Metastasio's tragedy, La 
Clemenza di Tito. Soon after this he undertook, 
at the urgent desire of the Director of the Land 
Cadet Corps, count Anhalt, an entirely new office, 
which compelled him to lecture on Russian lite- 
rature before the upper classes of that corps. About 
this time he wrote some tragedies, as Sophonisba 
and Wladissan, and his two comedies, The Boaster, 
and The Eccentric Men. At the end of the year 
1790, he fell dangerously ill, of which illness he 
died, on the 14th of January, 1791. Knashnin has 
left behind him the following works : Tragedies. 
1. Dido, in five acts. 2. The Clemency of Titus, 
in three acts. 3. RosslafF, in five acts. 4. Wladis- 
san, in five acts, with choruses. 5. Wladimir 
and Jaropolk, in five acts. 6. Sophonisba, in 
five acts. Comedies : in verse. 1. The Boaster, 
in five acts. 2. The Eccentric Men, in five acts. 
In prose : The Unfortunate Peace-maker, in three 
acts. 4. Mourning, or the Consoled Widow, 
in two acts. Operas : 1. The Coach-accident, in 
two acts. 2. The Sbit-carrier, in three acts. 3. 
The Miser, in one act. 4. The Pretended Mad- 
man, in two acts. The Melodrame of Orpheus. 
Besides these, he wrote a number of odes, fables, 
songs, and other minor poems. A complete col- 
lection of Kniishnin's works appeared in 1S22, at 
St. Petersburg, in five volumes. Merslakoff judges 
very correctly on the writings of Knashnin, when 
he says, " SumarokofF's place was succeeded to 
by his relative and pupil Knashnin. In the trage- 
dies of the latter there is a purer, nobler, and more 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. i.'U 

dignified style than in those of Sumarokoff. Bnt 
he is often cold, high-flown, forced, and is al- 
ways too much bent on sublimity. In one particu- 
lar scene of his Rosslaff, he seems to have collected 
together all the fine-sounding words which are 
scattered over the different tragedies of a Cor- 
neille, a Racine, and a Voltaire. He imitates all 
the French tragedians, or rather, he makes down- 
right extracts from their works. Not so Suma- 
rokoff!" Among Knashnin's comedies, however, 
there are some which are decidedly good. The Ec- 
centric Men, and The Boaster, are not to be esteemed 
much inferior to Von Wisin's immortal comedies, 
The Mother's Spoiled Son, and the Brigadier. 

Knashnin (I. Alexander), lieutenant-general and 
knight of several orders, died on the 8th of April, 
1829, at St. Petersburg, in the twenty-ninth year 
of his age, in consequence of the wounds which 
he had received at the battle of Borodino, in 1812. 
In his leisure hours, literature was his chief amuse- 
ment. There are several plays of his composition, 
most of which are still favourites with the public 
on the stage, and many of which have been printed. 
Besides these, he has left several fables and treatises 
in verse and prose. 

Kokoschkin (Feodor Feodorowitsch), collegiate 
councillor, a lord of the bedchamber, and knight, 
honorary member of the University of Moscow, 
and of many other learned bodies, was born at 
Moscow, the 20th of April, 1773, and educated in 
his father's house, and at the above named univer- 
sity. He served first of all in the guards, and 
then in the ministry of the department of justice. 

r -2 



244 A LEXICON OF 

In 1807, he took an active part in the establish- 
ing, and in 1812, in the arming of the Moscow 
militia. Since 1819, he has been connected with 
the management of the theatre, and also one 
of the council of the Building Commission at Mos- 
cow. In literature, Kokoschkin is known, inde- 
pendently of other successful contributions to the 
drama, by his masterly translation of the Misan- 
thrope of Moliere. Besides this, he has trans- 
lated several pieces in prose, and is the author of 
many little poems. 

Konifskj, see Georgj. 

Konstantin (Konstantinowitsch), prince of Os- 
trog, woywode of Kieff, and marshal of Volhy- 
nia, occupies a distinguished station in the his- 
tory of Russian literature ; not, it is true, among 
the number of writers, but as a zealous defender 
of the true faith, and of general enlightenment in 
the western provinces of the Sclavonic countries. 
This Knas, descended from the successors of Wlad- 
imir, preserved, almost the only one, among all 
the Lithuanian and Volhynian princes in the six- 
teenth century, the pure doctrines of the Eastern 
Church, notwithstanding the efforts and persecu- 
tions of the Papists and Lhiionists : and he first 
ventured to have the Sclavonic church-books 
openly printed amongst them for the use of the 
Russians. Finally, in 15 SO, he sent for the printer, 
Johann Fodoroff from Lemberg, and engaged him 
to print in the same year the Psalms, the New 
Testament, and the Kalendar, and in 1581, the 
entire Bible in two parts, in the Sclavonic lan- 
guage. There were also published from the same 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 245 

press a number of other books, and thus, the 
first establishment of numerous printing presses 
was caused in Southern Russia, for instance, in 
Lemberg, in Mohileff, in Kieff, and many other 
places. In all these printing presses, the form of 
the Ostrogian letters was preserved, in which re- 
spect they differ from the printing used at Moscow. 
Of the original works of Konstantin Konstantino- 
witsch, the following is known : A Circular Letter 
to all the Volhynian and Lithuanian Churches, 
warning them not to follow the Apostate Bishops, 
and exhorting to the continuance in the Faith 
of the Eastern Greek Church, which he composed 
in the year 1595. This appeared in print at Os- 
trog. Another circular letter of his is printed in 
the Russian Church History of the most vener- 
able metropolitan Platon. This prince died in 
1608. One of his sons, Janussj, castellan" 1 of 
Cracow, became a convert to the Roman Catholic 
faith ; the other, named Alexander, woywode of 
Volhynia, continued to follow his father's attach- 
ment to the orthodox creed, but engaged in the' 
discharge of the duties of the military profession, 
which he adopted, and occupied constantly in wars, 
he was not animated by his father's zeal for religion 
and piety. 

KopjEwiTSCH,or,KopuEFSKj (Ilja, 'Elias,' Feodor- 
owitsch), born in White Russia, studied in Holland, 
and after having declared himself a convert to the 
reformed faith, was appointed a preacher in Amster- 
dam. Peter, during his stay in that city, became ac- 

1,1 Or commander* 



246 A LEXICON OF 

quainted with Kopjewitsch's merits, gave him the 
title of Translator to the College for Foreign Affairs, 
and engaged him in the composition and translation 
of a number of educational works for the youth 
of Russia, which he ordered to be printed at the 
Sclavonic press, by Tessing. Kopjewitsch entered 
with ready zeal into the views of his royal employer. 
In the years 1699 and 1700, the following works and 
translations of his performance were printed by Tes- 
sing. 1. An Introduction to a History of the World. 
2. On the Art of War, a work written by the 
Greek Emperor Leo, surnamed the Peace-maker. 
And 3. A Latin Grammar for the Use of Russian 
Youth, published under the title Latina Grammatica 
in mum Scholaram celeberrimce gentis Slavonico- 
Rosseance, Sfc. Besides these, he prepared for the 
press a number of other works ; but his death, 
which ensued in 1701, did not permit him to su- 
perintend their publication himself. Among these 
were: 1. Mathematical Works ; as for instance, 
The Introduction to Arithmetic. 2. Theological 
works. 3. Poetical works; as iEsop's Fables, 
Horatius Flaccus, Upon the Virtues, &c. 4. His- 
torical works ; as Quintus Curtius' Life of Alex- 
ander the Great of Macedon. 5. Rhetorical works. 
6. Grammatical works. 7. Dictionaries, and so 
forth. After the death of Kopjewitsch, of all his 
translations only one was printed, in 170 I, at the 
press of Abraham Brenan at Amsterdam, viz., The 
Book of Navigation. In the year 1700 he had 
himself printed at that place A Panegyric on Peter 
the Great, in verse, written in the Latin and Rus- 
sian languages, and entitled " The Praise of the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 247 

Triumphs, and Admiration of the Victories of the 
Most High and Mighty, Most Powerful and Most 
Unconquerable Great Monarcb,the Czar and Grand 
Prince, Peter Alexijewitsch, and so forth. 

Koppen (P. von), author of a publication at 
St. Petersburg, in 1825, entitled, Bibliographical 
Sheets. 

Kopusstenskj. See Zacharias. 

Kornilowitsch, wrote Upon the Diplomatic 
Missions to Russia in Past Times. This essay is to 
be found in a journal published at St. Petersburg, 
by the Society of the Friends of Enlightenment 
and Philanthropy. 

Korobeinikoff (Triphon), and Jurj Grekoff, 
merchants of Moscow, were sent, in the time of 
the Czar John Wassiljewitsch to the holy places of 
the East, to give alms and offerings in memory 
of the deceased Imperial Prince John. They 
visited Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Alex- 
andria, and other places, and wrote a journal of 
their Travels, which has appeared in print in the 
twelfth number of the Ancient Russian Library, 
under the title, the Journey of Triphon Korobeini- 
koff, a merchant of Moscow, and his fellow-traveller 
to Jerusalem, Egypt and Mount Sinai, in the year 
1583. It was also separately printed in St. Peters- 
burg in 1783. 

Kosloff (Iwan), the blind poet, has very re- 
cently published a most excellent translation of 
The Bride of Abydos. The Conversations-Lexicon 
gives ample details concerning him. The Trans- 
lator trusts that he may be excused for having 
added the following interesting extract from the 



2t8 A LEXICON OF 

Conversations-Lexicon. " Kosloff is a Russian 
noble, and equally remarkable as a man and as a 
poet. He was born in 1780, and spent the greater 
part of his youth in the gaieties of the great world. 
A welcome guest in all the most refined and 
fashionable circles of Moscow, he spent rather a 
life of excitement than of activity. His genius 
slumbered undeveloped ; but still he evinced a 
love of literature, so far as an attention to the 
French and Italian, as well as the Classics, could 
give evidence of, or promote this taste. In these 
he found, in the want of any serious occupation, 
an agreeable amusement, and a fountain from which 
to refresh himself when exhausted by dissipation. 
His whole energies were devoted alternately to the 
pleasures of the world, and the provision for his 
family. About his fortieth year he caught a severe 
distemper, which entirely deprived him of the use 
of his feet. Thus thrown into utter retirement, 
after being accustomed to incessant society, he 
found himself obliged to seek, in his own resources, 
a compensation for the gaieties which he had lost. 
This stroke of fortune did not bow him down. 
His spirit took a more lofty direction than before. 
He became a poet. The ideal world which he 
now created for himself soon fully atoned for the 
loss of the real world which was taken from him. 
In the intervals of his pain he acquired a know- 
ledge of himself, and discovered that he possessed 
talents of which he had not yet been aware. In a 
short time he made himself well acquainted with 
the English language and literature. Yet a severer 
trial awaited him : he lost his si<j,ht. Hut not even 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 219 

this melancholy affliction could subdue or depress 
his mind. It became for him another step in the 
moral and mental scale of ascension. In his blind- 
ness, he amused himself the whole day long with 
poetry. He began next to study the German lan- 
guage, and was soon able to understand the clas- 
sical poets of Germany. Ever since he has lived 
in the world of memory and imagination. Gifted 
with an extraordinary grasp of thought, he retains 
everything which he has once acquired. He trans- 
lated Byron from memory, recorded the emotions 
of his own past life in the gilded dream-imagery of 
song, and composed epistles in verse to his friends, 
who assembled often to see him, and enjoy his 
conversation. He translated very happily some 
things from the English and Italian ; of which we 
only recollect at this moment The Bride of Aby- 
dos, St. Petersburg, 1826, and of his original 
poems we remember principally Tschernetz, ( i. e. 
The Monk, which was translated into German, by 
Schreiber, St. Petersburg, 1825.) His Poems, ap- 
peared at St. Petersburg, 1828." 

Kostroff (Jermit Iwanowitsch), provincial se- 
cretary, was born in the government of Watka. 
He received his education first in the seminary of 
that place, then at the clerical academy of Mos- 
cow, and at last, from the year 1771, at the univer- 
sity of the same place, where he also took a ba- 
chelor's degree in the year 1778, and was appointed 
provincial secretary in 1782. He died the 9th of 
December, 1796. A collection of his poetical 
works, which had previously appeared separately, 
was published in 1802, in two parts. lie had 



250 A LEXICON OF 

translated: 1. Homer's Iliad, six books, from the 
original Greek, St. Petersburg, 1787. He trans- 
lated also six books more, of which the seventh, 
eighth, and half of the ninth, are printed in the 
European Messenger. It is related that he offered 
these six books to a bookseller, but that the barba- 
rian refused to give him more than 150 roubles for 
them, upon which the indignant poet threw them 
into the fire. His translation of the Iliad will be 
sufficient to hand down KostrofF's name to posterity, 
although later translators have surpassed him in 
the performance. The chief fault and principal 
difficulty of this translation is that it is not written 
in the same metre with the original". Compare ar- 
ticle Gnaditsch. 2. Apulejeff, or the Golden Ass 
of Apuleius, Moscow, 1781. 3. Ossian's Poems, 
in two parts, which he translated from the French 
version, Moscow, 1792, second edition, St. Peters- 
burg, 1818. KostrofF's translation, however, is in- 
comparably better than the French. 4. Elvira and 
Cenotemissa, a poem of Arnaud, Moscow, 1779. 
And 5. Voltaire's Tactics, in verse, Moscow, 
1779. 

Kotlarefskj, has earned himself a name by his 
translation of the iEneid into the provincial dialect 
of Little Russia. 

Kraft (Wolfgang Ludwig), was born at St. Pe- 
tersburg in 1743, and studied mathematics and 
physics at foreign universities. In 1769 he was sent 



n This observation will appeal less strange, as coming from a German. 
when we recollect that Voss's Homer, l«\ far the bi si translation of him 
that lias ever appeared, is written in German hex ters 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 251 

to Orenburg to take observations of the transit of 
Venus over the sun ; and in 1771 he was adopted 
into the Academy. He was a co-operator with the 
great Euler in the preparation of the lunar tables, 
and working out the new theory of the moon's 
courses. Kraft was teacher of physics and astro- 
nomy to the Emperor Alexander Pawlowitsch, and 
the Grand Prince Constantine Pawlowitsch. He 
died in 1814. 

Krascheninnikoff (Stephen Petrowitsch), pro- 
fessor of botany in the Academy of Sciences at St. 
Petersburg, was born in 1713, at Moscow, and stu- 
died at the Academy of Saikonospaskj. In 1733 
he was sent from St. Petersburg as a student to 
accompany the second expedition to Kamtschatka. 
The professors there sent him, in 1736, on account 
of their own too pressing engagements, from Ja- 
kutsk to Kamtschatka ; but as they themselves did 
not make the journey, all the obligations and re- 
sponsibilities rested on Krascheninnikoff alone. With 
the assistance of the adjunct Steller, who was sent 
out in 1739 to complete his arrangements, he pre- 
pared all the necessary materials for a description 
of these parts, and returned in 1743 to St. Peters- 
burg. In 1745 he was appointed adjunct, and in 
1750 professor. He died on the 12th of February, 
1755, on the same day that the last sheet of his 
description of Kamtschatka was printed. Of his 
writings, the best known are: 1. Description of 
the Country of Kamtschatka, in two parts, with 
many copperplates, St. Petersburg, 1755 : new edi- 
tion, same place, 1818. 2. A Discourse on the 
Utility of the Arts and Sciences, printed in 1750. 



252 A LEXICON OF 

3. A Translation of the Life of Alexander the Great, 
by Quintus Curtius. Krascheninnikoff was no ge- 
nius, but a clever man; his style is correct, toler- 
ably pure, and was for a long time considered a 
model of perfection. 

Krasnopulskj, a young Russian noble, translated 
into Russian one of Kotzebue's plays, called The 
Coachman of Peter the Great, which, fortunately 
for the author, contained an indirect compliment 
to the Emperor Paul. For when Kotzebue was ar- 
rested on the Russian frontier and sent to Siberia, 
in the year 1800, some friend of the poet put into 
the Emperor's hand this translation of Krasnopulskj, 
which so much pleased him, that he had the piece 
represented at the St. Petersburg theatre, recalled 
the writer from exile, took him into favour, and 
presented him with a landed estate, called Wokro- 
kiill, in Livonia. See Kotzebue's work, called Das 
merkzmirdigste Jahr meines Lebens, 2 vols. Berlin, 
1801. 

Krassofskj (Johann Iwanowitsch), born in 1746, 
was one of the compilers of the Etymological Rus- 
sian Dictionary, in six volumes. 

Kuekschin (Peter), died in 1763, aged SO years, 
collected with industry all possible materials bear- 
ing on the subject of Russian history, and wrote 
himself the history of several Czars, but never had 
his labours printed. His papers were purchased 
after his death, by Catherine the Second, and pre- 
sented by her to the Imperial Library. 

Krukofskoj (Matwaj AVassiljewitsch), born at 
St. Petersburg the 1 6th of November, 1781, re- 
ceived his education in the Land Cadet Corps, en- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 853 

tered the army as lieutenant, served afterwards as 
an officer in the same corps, and still later, as trans- 
lator to the Commission for Improving the Laws. 
In 1808 he went, with the assistance of govern- 
ment, to complete his education in the arts and 
sciences in foreign countries ; and in 1810 re- 
turned to St. Petersburg, where he died in the en- 
suing year. Of his works the best known are : 1 . 
Posharskoj, a tragedy, in three acts, in verse, re- 
presented for the first time at St. Petersburg, the 
22nd of May, 1807, and printed there in 1S07 and 
1811. This piece has been adapted to the German 
stage by F. R. Gebhardt, under the title of Prince 
Posharskoj, the Hero of Russia, or, The Storming 
of Moscow, a historical drama, in three acts. 2. 
Elizabeth, the Daughter of Jarofslaw, a tragedy, 
in five acts, which never appeared on the stage, but 
was printed at St. Petersburg in 1820. Besides 
these he published a translation On Political Eco- 
nomy, from Herrenschwand, St. Petersburg, 1807. 

Kr'uloff (Alexander), an elegiac poet, died on 
the 26th of July, 1829, aged thirty-one years, at 
his estate in the district of Tichwinsch, after 
protracted bodily sufferings, to which, in his last 
years, total blindness was superadded. " A. Krii- 
loff," says A. Bestuscheff, in speaking of him, " pos- 
sesses the unusual gift of converting foreign beau- 
ties into the Russian tongue, without disfiguring 
the sense of the original. His muse is not self- 
dependent, but his verses enchant by the melody 
of their flow." 

Kr'uloff (Iwan Andrejewitsch), librarian to the 
Imperial Public Library, councillor of state, and 



254 A LEXICON OF 

knight, member of the Russian Academy, and many 
other learned societies, was born at Moscow, the 
2nd of February, 1768. His parents removed 
shortly after his birth to Twer, where he was edu- 
cated under their eye. He served at first at 
Twer, afterwards (from the year 1785) at St. Pe- 
tersburg in different courts of justice. In 1802 
he was appointed secretary to the administration 
department of war at Riga. In 1811 he came to 
the Imperial Public Library, in which we believe 
that he still continues to be engaged. He is the 
author of the following dramatic works : 1. The 
Coffee-house Girl, an opera, which he wrote when 
only sixteen years old, but which is not yet 
printed. 2. Mischievous People, a comedy, in five 
acts, in prose, St. Petersburg, 1793. 3. The Au- 
thor in the Antechamber, a comedy, in three 
acts, in prose, St. Petersburg, 1794. 4. The Mil- 
liner's Shop, a comedy, in three acts, in prose, 
St. Petersburg, 1807 : second edition, 1816. 5. 
The Girls' School, a comedy, in one act, in prose, 
St. Petersburg, 1807 : second edition, 1816. 6. 
The Riotous Family, an opera, in three acts, 1793, 
etc. Fables : of which the last edition at St. Pe- 
tersburg appeared in IS 19, and a splendid edi- 
tion in the Russian, French, and Italian languages, 
under the superintendence of Orloff, was published 
by Bossange in Paris, 1825, in several parts. He 
also took a part in the editorship of the following 
journals: 1. The Witty Post, 1789. 2. The Spec- 
tator, 1792. 3. The St. Petersburg Mercury, 1 793 ; 
and 4. The Dramatic Messenger, 1808. Herr von 
Kriiloff occupies the first place in the list of Rus- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 255 

sian fable-writers. Originality of invention, sim- 
plicity and nature in arrangement, a true Russian, 
pure, correct, and unconstrained style, interwoven 
with expressions which the author himself picked 
up from the wit of the Russian common people ; 
these things constitute the merit of his fables. The 
other Russian fable-writers are happy in their imi- 
tations of foreign models, and have often attained 
to an equality with their masters ; but KriilofF be- 
came himself a model for the copy of foreigners, 
who translate his fables with eagerness, in order to 
acquaint their countrymen with the " play of the 
Russian intellect." Of KrulofF's comedies, The Mil- 
liner's Shop and The Girls' School are distinguished 
by an accurate representation of nature in the cha- 
racters and style. Pity that they should have been 
written in prose ! 

Kubassoff (Sergj), son of a bojar of Tobolsk, 
who had emigrated from Jarosslawl, lived at the 
beginning of the seventeenth century. He was 
author of a book of chronography, i. e. A His- 
tory from the Creation of the World. This chro- 
nology begins, like others, with the creation, is 
continued down through the Greek empire, and 
ends with the taking of Constantinople. In the 
245th chapter of it, begins "the history of the Scla- 
vonic language," and of " the Russian people," etc. 
and the same concludes with the election of the 
Czar Michael Feodorowitsch. To the end of the 
work is attached in an appendix, besides some syl- 
labic verses, A Short Description of the Czars of 
Moscow, from John Wassiljewitsch to Michael Feo- 
dorowitsch. This chronology is preserved in the 



256 A LEXICON OF 

library of the Moscow University, and the last- 
mentioned article appeared in print in the first part 
of the Russian Memorabilia. 

Kuchelbecker, author of the European Letters, 
and, as Bestuscheff remarks, "distinguished by the 
lofty flights of his fancy." 

Kukolnik, a young and original author, is the 
writer of the historical drama, The Arm of the Al- 
mighty hath saved the Country. The subject is 
taken from Russian history, and alludes to the de- 
liverance of Moscow in 1613, and the consequent 
elevation of the house of RomanzofT to the throne. 
M. Karatiquen is the actor who has generally taken 
the part of Prince Posharskoj. 

Kurbskj (Prince Andrej Michaelowitsch), a de- 
scendant of the Prince of Jarosslaw, and near rela- 
tive of the Czar John Wassiljewitsch, by the side 
of his first wife, Anastasia Romanowna, was bojar 
and woywode under this Czar, and was born in the 
year 1529. He served with rapid promotion in 
the different campaigns of the Czar ; and in the 
second campaign against Casan, 1553, he com- 
manded, at the age of twenty-four, in company with 
the Prince Peter Iwanowitsch Schtschenatjeff, the 
right wing, which was 12,000 men strong. At the 
assault of Casan it fell to his lot to be intrusted 
with the seizure of the lower gates, and after the 
town was taken, he followed the Tatar army in its 
retreat, in the course of which pursuit he was 
severely wounded. Six years after, he engaged 
in the third and last campaign against Casan, 
which he brought to a happy conclusion. After 
this, he marched against the Livonian knights, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 257 

and distinguished himself again by numberless brave 
actions. In the year 1564 he incurred the dis- 
pleasure of the Czar, and fled with some other per- 
sons to Lithuania, under the protection of the then 
king of Poland and Lithuania, Sigismund Augustus, 
who assured to him an unmolested residence in 
the Lithuanian town of Wolmar, and afterwards at 
Kowno. From Wolmar he wrote to the Czar John 
Wassiljewitsch a letter of reproach, which the Czar 
answered by sending him two long letters, full of 
charges and accusations. Prince Kurbskj refuted 
them both, and then set to work and wrote a thick 
book against the Czar, which bears for title, A His- 
tory of the Actions of the Grand Prince of Mos- 
cow, which we have partly heard from the testi- 
mony of credible witnesses, and partly seen with 
our own eyes. In this book he gives a short ac- 
count of the birth and education of this monarch ; 
the campaigns against Casan, the Krimea, the 
Tscheremisses, and the Livonians. But he has 
filled up the greatest part of it with pictures of 
the Czar's hardness of heart, and of the punish- 
ments which were imposed upon the bojars and 
other subjects of the Czar. There are to be found 
in this work many historical relations, which are 
sought for in vain in the other Latopisses. The 
composition however is not printed. Many of the 
friends of antiquity are in possession of copies of 
it in MS. At the end of it are added his letters to 
the Czar John Wassiljewitsch. The answers of 
the Czar are to be found in some of the copies of 
the Stufenbuch, or Step-book, in MS., which are 
more complete than the Stufenbuch which was 

s 



258 A LEXICON OF 

published by Miiller. Of the number of eighty-four 
discourses of St. Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. 
John, which were translated by Maxim, the Greek, 
and printed in Moscow in 1665, the 44th, the 
45th, 46th, and 47th, as appears from the signatures, 
were translated by von Andrej Kurbskj, but whe- 
ther by this writer, or another prince of the same 
name, is subject of dispute. It is moreover men- 
tioned in the history itself, that he had composed 
a preface to, the Book of Homilies of Chrysostom, 
surnamed the New Margarites, so that it may be 
supposed by inference that he was also the trans- 
lator of these discourses. It is evident from his 
history, that he was acquainted with the Greek and 
Latin languages, and was familiar with the reading 
of the Holy Scriptures and the works of St. John. 
The time and place of his death are not known. 
In his letters to the Czar he gives his word that he 
will never return to his native country, and in one 
of the answers he calls himself a grey-headed man. 



Lasar-Baranowitsch, archbishop of Tschernigow 
and Novogorod, was, from 1650 to 1655, rector of 
the Academy of Kieff, and died in 1693. This ec- 
clesiastic distinguished himself in his own times by 
his learning, and zealous support of the orthodox 
church against the Jesuits. In 1669 he persuaded 
the army of Saporog, by his eloquent addresses, to 
declare for the Czar Alexej Michailowitsch. Lasar 
wrote sermons in the Little Russian of his time, as 
well as some polemical works in Polish. Some of 
his poems were printed, together with some eccle- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 259 

siastical discourses, in an appendix to the book 
called The Wet Fleece. And a separate and com- 
plete poem appeared in quarto at Kieff in 1676, 
under the title, A Lament for the Death of the Grand 
Prince Alexej Michailowitsch, and a congratula- 
tory address to the Czar Feodor Alexej ewitsch. 

Lawrentj-Zisanj, a protopope, or superior priest, 
of the orthodox faith, at Korez in Lithuania, pub- 
lished the first Sclavonic grammar, under the title of 
A Sclavonic Grammar, containing the complete 
science of the eight parts of speech, and other 
necessary instructions, published at Wilna, in 1596. 
An exact description of this book, which is ex- 
tremely difficult to be met with, is given in Strahl's 
Learned Russia, p. 157. Besides this, he composed, 
1. A Sclavonic Horn-book, with some prayers, and 
a little Sclavonic-Russian Dictionary, which was 
printed at Wilna in the year 1596; and, 2. A Great 
Cathechism, in the Lithuanian language, which, 
after being subjected to the review of the clergy of 
Moscow, was abridged and printed at that place 
in 1662, under the title, A Catechismus, called in the 
Lithuanian language Religious Instructions, and 
in Russian, Lectures, extracted from the sacred 
books of the Gospel, of the Apostles, and of the 
Holy Fathers of the Church ; in questions and an- 
swers. 

Laxemann, author of the Siberian Letters, which 
were translated into Russian by Schlozer. 

Lefschin. See Platon. 

Lelewel. See Bulgarin. 

Lepechin (I wan Iwanowitsch), councillor of state 
and knight, was born in the year 1739, received 



260 A LEXICON OF 

his education in the Gymnasium of the Academy 
of Sciences, and was sent in 1762 to Strasburg, to 
the university there, where he proceeded to the de- 
gree of doctor of medicine. After his return to his 
country he was appointed, in 1768, adjunct to the 
Academy of Sciences, and sent out as chief con- 
ductor on an expedition of physical science. He 
visited the governments of Wladimir, Nischegorod, 
Casan, Orenburg, Simbirsk, and especially the coun- 
tries lying round the Volga, and the Uralian moun- 
tains ; and later still he travelled over and de- 
scribed the Polar countries of the Russian empire. 
In 1773 he went, by order of the Empress, to White 
Russia, to describe the natural curiosities of those 
parts. In 1771 he was appointed an academician ; 
and at the institution of the Russian Academy in 
1783, he was chosen a member and perpetual se- 
cretary of that society. For fifteen years succes- 
sively he was superintendent of the Gymnasium of 
the Academy. He died on the 6th of April, 1802. 
His works are : 1. A Journal of my Travels in va- 
rious Provinces of the Russian Empire, in three parts, 
St. Petersburg, 1771-1780. 2. On the Advantage 
of Investigating the Medical Virtues of Native 
Vegetable Productions, St. Petersburg, 1785. 3. 
The Method of Preventing Contagious Disorders 
in Horned Cattle, and the Method of Curing the 
same, St. Petersburg, 1790. 4. Thoughts upon 
the Cultivation or Production of Silk, St. Peters- 
burg, 1798. Besides this, he translated half the 
first part, and from the fifth to the tenth part of 
Count Buffon's Natural History, General and Par- 
ticular. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 261 

Levesque (Peter Karl), deserves the first place 
among foreign writers who have occupied them- 
selves with Russian history. He was a member of 
the French National Institute, Professor of History 
in the French College, knight of the Legion of Ho- 
nour, and was born at Paris, the 2Sth of March, 
1736. He studied at the College of Four Na- 
tions, and soon distinguished himself by his bril- 
liant advancement in his scientific education. In 
the meantime he had the patience to acquire the 
art of engraving upon copper. When twenty-four 
years old he published some treatises, of which 
two, viz. The Moral Man, and The Thinking Man, 
gained him the friendship and protection of Dide- 
rot, at whose recommendation he was called to 
Russia in 1773, and appointed a Professor in the 
Land Cadet Corps. Immediately on his arrival at 
St. Petersburg, he determined to occupy himself 
with the history of the Empire. With this view he 
studied perseveringly the Russian and Sclavonic 
languages, and availed himself of the Chronicles, 
public documents, and other memorials of Russian 
antiquity which had been hitherto concealed from 
the learned men of Europe ; and in this work he 
found sufficient employment for seven years. In 
17,80 he returned to France, and in 1782 had his 
work printed, under the title, A History of Russia, and 
of the Principal Nations which constitute the Rus- 
sian Empire, (Histoire de Russie et des Principaks 
Nations de V Empire Rasse). This history merits 
the greatest respect as being the first attempt of the 
kind among foreign nations. Levesque died on the 
12th of March, 1812, while engaged in the pre- 



262 A LEXICON OF 

paration of the fourth edition of his History, which 
consists of eight parts. This highly-esteemed writer 
must not be confounded with his countryman, 
the physician Le Clerc, who had published at 
Paris, in the year 1787, a collection of all the 
smatterings of information which he could amass 
on the subject of Russia, with the pompous title 
of A Natural, Moral, Municipal, and Political His- 
tory of Ancient and Modern Russia, in five parts, 
Boltin, Schlozer, and other learned critics, have 
treated this pitiable patchwork in the manner it de- 
serves. 

Lewanda. See Johann. 

Lichud the monks, (Johannikj, born 1633, and 
Sophronj, born 1652, two brothers, and natives of 
Greece), were appointed in 1685 as teachers at the 
Sclavonic-Greek-and-Roman Academy at Moscow, 
where they acquired extraordinary reputation by 
their instructions and writings; and so contributed in 
a great degree to advance the credit of this academy. 
Johannikj died in 1717, and Sophronj in 1730. 

Linde (Samuel Gottlieb), rector of the Lyceum 
at Warsaw, was born in 1 771, and raised for himself 
an imperishable memorial in Sclavonic literature by 
his publication of The Dictionary of the Polish Lan- 
guage, which was printed at Warsaw, in six parts, 
1806-1810, and costs twelve ducats. This work 
contains the entire range of words of all the va- 
rious Sclavonic languages and dialects, and gives 
their derivation, varieties, and mutual relations. It 
serves as a sure guide in tracing the etymologies of 
these languages, so rich in themselves, and though 
harmonising, so different, and gives important assist- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 263 

ance in the study of the history of the Sclavonic 
tribes. See article Vostokoff. 

Lobanoff (Michael Eustaphjewitsch), assistant 
in the Imperial Public Library, and knight, was 
born at St. Petersburg in 1787, and received his 
literary and scientific education from private schools 
and tuition. His most remarkable work is the 
beautiful metrical translation of the Iphigenia of 
Racine, published and represented on the stage at 
St. Petersburg in 1815. Afterwards he employed 
himself in translating the Phaedra, of which he has 
read many specimens at the open sittings of the 
Society of the Lovers of Russian Literature. Be- 
sides this, he has published : 1. An Ode on the 
War of 1812. 2. An Elegy on the Death of Count 
A. P. Stroganoff. 3. A Song to the Russian Czar. 
4. An Ode on the Arrival of the Emperor from 
Paris, etc. etc. ; which last was sold for the benefit 
of the Russian Military Hospital, and brought in a 
sum of a thousand roubles. 

Lomonossoff (Michael Wassiljewitsch), Professor 
at the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, mem- 
ber of the Academies of Stockholm and Bologna, 
was born in 1711, at the village of Denissowska, not 
far from Cholmogory, in the government of Arch- 
angel. His father, a serf of the crown, was by occu- 
pation a fisherman. The young Lomonossoff often 
accompanied him on his fishing excursions in the 
White and North seas. Spending the winters at 
home, he learnt reading and writing from the minister 
of the church, acquired a knowledge of the Sclavonic 
grammar and arithmetic, and read the translation 
of the Psalms in verse, which had been done by Si- 



264 A LEXICON OF 

meon Polozkj, with which book he occupied him- 
self so long, that at last he knew it entirely by 
heart. This awakened in him the love of the sci- 
ences and of literature, which he had not the means 
of satisfying in his native village. He resolved 
therefore to make a journey to Moscow, with a 
wagon which was going to carry a load of frozen 
fish to that capital. Here he entered the school 
of Saikonospaskj, at which he soon distinguished 
himself above all the other scholars by his industry 
and progress. After this he was sent to KiefF, and 
in 1 734 to the Academy of Sciences at St. Peters- 
burg, to complete his studies. At Moscow and 
KiefF he busied himself with the study of the an- 
cient languages, and the reading of Sclavonic books, 
but at St. Petersburg with mathematics, physics, 
chemistry, and mineralogy. After two years he 
was sent to Marburg, to the celebrated mathema- 
tician and philosopher, Christian Wolff; remained 
there three years, and thence went to Freiberg, to 
study practical metallurgy and the art of mining. 
Although he engaged with ardour in these, the 
chief ends and objects of his studies, yet he still de- 
voted all his leisure hours to literature, obtained a 
thorough acquaintance with the German language, 
read the German poets of the day, and already de- 
termined to imitate and rival them. In 1739 he 
wrote, in iambic verses of four feet, an ode On 
the Conquest of Chotschin, and sent it to St. Pe- 
tersburg. It was presented to the Empress Anne, 
favourably received, and excited universal admi- 
ration. In the meantime LomonossofF had mar- 
ried at Marburg, but soon came to a separation, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 265 

and being hard pressed by creditors, resolved to 
return by way of Holland to Russia. On the 
journey he fell into the hands of a party of Prus- 
sian recruiting officers, and had great difficulty 4n 
getting free from them again. When he arrived 
at St. Petersburg, in 1741, he was appointed ad- 
junct at the Academy of Sciences; in 1746 pro- 
fessor of Chemistry ; and in 1751 collegiate coun- 
cillor. In the same year he was made a member 
of the Academical Chancery; in 1760 the com- 
plete management of all the gymnasiums and uni- 
versities was given over to him ; and in December 
1764 he was appointed councillor of state. He 
died the 4th of April, 1765, and was buried in the 
monastery of St. Alexander Newskj. The chan- 
cellor Count Michael Larionowitsch Woronzoffhad 
a splendid marble monument, with a Russian and 
Latin inscription, erected over his grave. The sen- 
timent expressed at the conclusion of a biographi- 
cal sketch in PiketofF's Pantheon of Russian Writers, 
" That Russia, if the gifts of genius afford a title to 
the gratitude of the people, owes a monument to 
Lomonossoff," seems at last likely to be practically 
exemplified now, a half century after his death, 
since, on the 9th of October, 1827, it was signified 
at St. Petersburg that the Company of Russian 
Merchants had sent one thousand roubles to Arch- 
angel as a contribution towards erecting a monu- 
ment to the first Russian poet, Lomonossoff. His 
writings are as follows; in prose : 1. A Short Rus- 
sian Chronicle, with a Genealogical Table. 2. 
The Ancient Russian History, from the beginning 
of the Russian People to the death of the Grand 



266 A LEXICON OF 

Prince Jarosslaff the First, i. e. till 1054. 3. A 
Russian Grammar, translated into German by Sta- 
wenhagen, St. Petersburg, 1764. 4. A Short In- 
troduction to Eloquence of Style, the first book, 
comprising Rhetoric. 5. Letters on the Rules of 
Poetry. 6. On the Use of the Church Books. 7. 
A Panegyrical Discourse on the Empress Elizabeth 
the First, (translated by himself into Latin). 8. A 
Panegyrical Discourse upon Peter the Great. 9. 
On the Use of Chemistry. 10. A Discourse on 
Ele trical and Atmospherical Phenomena. 11. A 
Treatise on the Nature of Light, setting forth an 
entirely new theory of the origin of colours. 12. 
A Programme, composed for the opening of the 
Lectures upon Physics. 13. A Description of the 
Comet which appeared in the year 1744. 14. The 
First Principles of Metallurgy, five parts, with two 
appendices. 15. Sixteen Letters to J. J. Schuwa- 
loff, etc. In verse : 1. The two first cantos of an 
epic poem, Peter the Great. 2. Tamira and Selim, 
a tragedy. 3. Demophont, a tragedy. 4. An Epis- 
tle on the Use of Glass, to J. J. Schuwaloff. 5. 
Thirty Odes on Sacred and other subjects. 6. 
Forty-nine Inscriptions. 7. Verses on the Fire- 
works of the 1st of January, 1755. 8. Polydorus, 
an idyl. And a number of small poems, imitations 
of Anacreon, epistles, and so forth. His transla- 
tions are the following; in prose: 1. A Dialogue 
in the Shades Below, between Alexander the Great, 
Hannibal, and Scipio, from the Greek of Lucian. 
2. A Dialogue, called The Morning, from the Latin 
of Erasmus of Rotterdam. In verse: 1. An Ode 
to Fortune, from the French of J. B. Rousseau. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 2G7 

2. The Crowning of the Hopes of the Russian Em- 
pire, from the German of Professor Junker. The 
collected works of Lomonossoff have been published 
by the Academy of Sciences, in six vols. 4to. : of 
which the third edition was called for in 1S03. 
The chief subjects of LomonossofFs studies and 
labours, were chemistry, physics, and metallurgy. 
He pursued with eager interest all these depart- 
ments of knowledge, and wrote some excellent 
works connected with each of them ; but neverthe- 
less he has earned his immortality by his achieve- 
ments in literature properly so called. Batjuschkoff 
has written a beautiful character and criticism of 
Lomonossoff, which however contains little more 
than conjecture on many important points. His 
contemporaries have left us but scanty memorials 
of that great man ; they regarded him as a pro- 
fessor of chemistry, and saw nothing in him but the 
councillor of state. A few apposite remarks how- 
ever, which we have extracted, cannot be consi- 
dered here as out of place. " Lomonossoff," says 
Batjuschkoff, " formed our language by laying 
down rules of all sorts. He did for literature what 
Peter the Great did for our civic institutions. Peter 
awoke a people fettered in ignorance and barbar- 
ism, and gave them laws, self-confidence, and glory; 
Lomonossoff shaped the language of that people, 
just lifting up their heads from sleep, and gave it 
even in his own time the highest possible degree of 
perfection. I say the highest possible degree, be- 
cause language always progresses in proportion to, 
and is modified by the results of arms, the influence 



2G8 A LEXICON OF 

of a nation's glory abroad, the degree of enlighten- 
ment, the necessities of society, the municipal laws, 
and the habits of life." (f The general voice," says 
MerslakofF, elsewhere, u proclaims LomonossofF to 
be the father of Russian poetry. But if we consider 
his diversified labours in the provinces of history, 
metallurgy, astronomy, and the sciences, on the 
subject of navigation, and above all, of physics, we 
must acknowledge him to be the father also of all 
those branches of useful knowledge, which were 
introduced into Russia first of all by the compre- 
hensive spirit of the incomparable Peter, and ma- 
tured and encouraged by his good daughter. The 
grateful admirers of the genius of LomonossofF may 
rightly say that poetry, which is to others a labo- 
rious occupation, was to this hero of learning only 
a recreation — a recreation agreeable in itself, and 
worthy of so great a man. This assertion at least 
may be made with truth of most of his poetical 
compositions, since every one of his odes, for ex- 
ample, are written to celebrate some well known 
passing event or festive occasion. The Master- 
singer, who eulogised his imperial mistress, was 
the speaking organ of the gratitude and feelings of 
all. This is in truth a noble and a sublime mission, 
which ever requires the most brilliant exertions of 
genius, but especially when its field of display is in 
the midst of the new and incipient enlightenment 
of a nation, — in a new language which the author 
has to define and settle for himself, and in the very 
cradle of the Muses, whose prophetic dawn beamed 
so brightly in the song of the poet before the ad- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 2G9 

vent of a mild and benevolent princess, whose 
reign the Most High blessed also with a continual 
and unbroken peace. Thus the tender shoots in 
the garden of science had time and opportunity to 
deepen their roots. In proportion as the hearts of the 
people were more readily reached, and quickly per- 
vaded, the favour of the patrons and the emulation 
of the sons of genius, were also more sensibly ex- 
cited. And how happily and gloriously has Lo- 
monossofF fulfilled this mission, imposed on him by 
Heaven ! On one side he gave us, like a legislator, 
a grammar and rhetoric; and first of all arranged, 
measured, and systematised, the comprehensive 
compass, the richness, the power, and the majesty 
of our mother-tongue ; and pointed out moreover 
the best way to its perfect development, by direct- 
ing our attention to the Sclavonic or church-lan- 
guage : — on the other side, he confirmed and illus- 
trated the rules which he laid down, by his own 
inimitable models of composition, as well in poetry 
as in prose. He was the architect, his was the 
genius, which in the midst of the northern snows 
erected a new temple of literature, of taste, and of 
science, but set no limits to the path which leads 
to it. No ! Still more, to attract and win the 
friends of intelligence, he himself continued until 
his death to serve in that temple, as its high-priest, 
where by his enchanting eloquence he softened and 
moulded the as yet half-educated hearts of his 
hearers. He was at once the creator and the 
zealous protector and patron of the Russian lan- 
guage. He is the Pygmalion of letters, who breathes 
into his statue, which serves as a model to the rest, 



270 A LEXICON OF 

soul, life, and motion, by the force of his patriotic 
love and enthusiasm. But to invest Lomonossoff 
in all his peculiar and well-merited glory, take into 
your consideration those who, now niched in the 
fane of immortality, guided their earthly career by 
following his steps. Set before your eyes our mas- 
ter-bard, as in the midst of all the other sons of 
song, he held up the torch to his dependents, fol- 
lowers, and imitators, to light them in the path to 
fame. See him surrounded by a Cheraskoff, Pet- 
roff, Popofskj, Bogdanowitsch, Dershawin, and other 
illustrious men, who are the honour, the ornament, 
and the triumph of Russian literature. They all 
consider that it contributes no little to their glory to 
be called the pupils of Lomonossoff; they all have 
imitated his style and language, and drawn, so to 
say, their very works out of the materials prepared 
and hewn by him; more or less they all have copied 
him, even in the designs and projections of their 
works — in one word, they are all his debtors." 
" The contributions of Lomonossoff to our lan- 
guage and literature," continues Merslakoff, " are 
immortal. In his works the Russians first disco- 
vered with glad astonishment the richness, fulness, 
and luxuriance of their language, skilfully min- 
gled with the Sclavonic. His biographer, Professor 
Popofskj, speaks of the impression which his first 
ode produced at the court of Anne. Every one 
found a new language, new words, and new-sound- 
ing syllables. They felt that they had a deep in- 
terest in, and a close relationship with, these new 
introductions; and they were pleased with them, 
because they had not yet been acquainted with 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 271 

them. Their astonishment is justifiable; since even 
to this day, I dare to assert it openly, no one has 
equalled Lomonossoff, either in sublimity of style, 
in the subtile conjunction of Sclavonic words with 
Russian ones, or in the power and brevity of his 
idioms and expressions. His works must ever be 
the favourite and first-loved book of every young 
scion of the Muses. He wrote nineteen odes. In 
the first there is much more liveliness of fancy, and 
more fire than in the last. On the other hand, 
these last are much more regular, and even in their 
composition, although far colder ; even in these, 
however, if each stanza and strophe be separately 
examined, what a degree of sublimity, strength, 
and passion is to be found there ! In every ode 
we meet with passages truly imperishable in their 
beauty, and like which nothing can be cited from 
the compositions of more recent times. From love 
for the fame of Lomonossoff, we cannot easily for- 
give that he should have written so many odes 
upon festivals, celebrations, and so forth, because 
such subjects must be uninteresting to, and unlikely 
to be translated by foreigners. On the other hand, 
his moral writings have been already translated into 
the languages of all lands, and they contain beau- 
ties for the capacity of all nations, by reason of 
the comprehensive and universal truths which they 
contain. The magic of his language is for us 
alone ; the thoughts are for all mankind. Some of 
the odes of Horace alone have the same felicity of 
expression, and universality of idea. One great 
lesson for the poet remains. Man is of all things 



272 A LEXICON OF 

the most important study for man. Celebrate then 
in song his virtues and his passions, his weakness, 
his good fortune, and his misery. Here lies the 
true secret of escaping oblivion." 

Ludolf (Heinrich Wilhelm), wrote a Russian 
Grammar, and derived it principally from the work 
of Smotrizkj ; he shows thereby his slight acquaint- 
ance with the language. It appeared by the title, 
H. W. Ludolfi Grammatica Russica, quce continet 
et mannductionem quamdam ad Grammaticam Scla- 
vonicam, Oxonii, 1696, 8vo. (97 pages). 

Lusloff. See Andrej. 

Lukas Schidata, or, Schirata, bishop of Novo- 
gorod, and a native of that place, died in 1059, and 
left us An Edifying Discourse to the Brethren. This 
discourse is to be found in the Lawrentian MS. 
of Nestor's Chronicle, see article Nestor ; and is 
printed also in the first part of the Russian Me- 
morabilia, which have been collected and published 
by the Moscow Society for History and Russian 
Antiquities. 

L'woff (Th.), the author of a work Upon the 
Popular and National Songs of the Russians, St. 
Petersburg, 1790, 8vo. He divides the Russian 
national songs into /;an?20ft/c/z/(protashnija) and me- 
lodical (placcowija — songs for dancing) ; the former 
in the minor key, the latter in the major. A se- 
lection of the best profane national songs was pub- 
lished by Dmitrijeff, under the title of The Pocket 
Song Book, Moscow, 1796, three vols, small 8vo. 
The most recent collections of Russian songs are 
the following: 1. The Newest and most Complete 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 273 

Universal Russian Song-book, by Sh. G. T. R. K., 

Moscow, 1810, 8vo. 2. The Last Universal Song- 
book, by Kalatilin, Moscow, 1810, 8vo. 3. The Uni- 
versal Russian Song-book, St. Petersburg, printed 
for Glasunoff, 4 vols. 4. The Most Modern and 
Selected Book of Songs, by P. and K. V., St. Pe- 
tersburg, printed for Beikoff, 4 vols. 8vo. (5. See 
article Jacobowitsch. 6. See article Daniloff. 7. 
See article Popoff ). 

M. 

Magnizkj (Leontj Philippowitsch), the first Rus- 
sian teacher of mathematics, was born in 1669. 
From the year 1700 he taught mathematics at Mos- 
cow. His first publication was in the Russian lan- 
guage, at Moscow, 1703, viz. an arithmetic with 
Arabic tables and figures, which he had printed in 
folio, in the Sclavonic character. Till his time the 
Russians had used the letters of their alphabet for 
arithmetical figures. He died in 1739. 

Maikoff (Wassilj Iwanowitsch), was born about 
the year 1725. He commenced with the military, 
and afterwards adopted the civil profession. In 
1772 he became brigadier and procurator in the 
College of War. He died at Moscow in 1778, in the 
office of member of the Armoury Palace. Maikoff 
had in his youth little or no opportunity of in- 
structing himself. He was accordingly not ac- 
quainted with any foreign languages, and wrote 
verses only at the suggestion of his own genius. 
In his early years he witnessed the first establish- 
ment of the Russian theatre at Jarosslawl, where 
he himself assisted Wolkoff, and determined him 



274 A LEXICON OF 

on first erecting this theatre within his father's 
house ; a circumstance which probably awakened 
in him the love of poetry, and especially his fond- 
ness for the drama. Maikoff was the author of 
two tragedies, and a number of odes, epistles, and 
fables. But his most notable works are his comic 
poems: 1. Elysium, or Bacchus in a Rage, in five 
cantos; and 2. The Game of Ombre, in three cantos. 
In these works may be detected extraordinary po- 
etical talents, keenness of observation, and gaiety. 
Pity that a more refined taste did not always guide 
the pen of the poet ! His works were printed at 
St, Petersburg in 1809, in one volume. 

Makarj, metropolitan of Moscow, and of all 
Russia, distinguished by his zeal for the church, 
his extensive acquaintance with literature, and by 
his remarkable talent for preaching. In his youth 
he occupied himself as a painter, but afterwards 
adopted the clerical profession, became a monk, and 
archimandrite of the Lushez monastery at Mos- 
haisk. In 1526 he was made archbishop of Novo- 
gorod; in 1542 metropolitan, in which capacity he 
placed the crown upon John Wassiljewitsch the 
Fourth as Czar, and died the 25th of December, 
1564. This ecclesiastic was zealous in spreading 
enlightenment by means of the Gospel among the 
Tschudish tribes, which border on the district of 
Novogorod. He laboured sedulously in reforming 
the clergy, and superintended the translation of a 
number of books into the Sclavonic language, for 
which purpose he entertained a number of learned 
men in his house. He himself laboured hard for 
twelve years at Novogorod at the Tschetj Minej, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 275 

or biographies of the saints which are held in ho- 
nour by the orthodox oriental, and especially by 
the Russian church. This work, consisting of two 
heavy volumes, and called The Great Tschetj Mi- 
nej, or legend-book, is to be found in MS. in the 
Library of St. Sophia, in the Synodal Library at 
Moscow, and at many of the libraries of the monas- 
teries. Makarj was the author of a number of ad- 
dresses and discourses (as for instance, of that de- 
livered at the assembly of the church called at Mos- 
cow in 1557, to greet the Czar John Wassiljewitsch 
the Severe, on his return from the campaign of 
Casan) ; and his compositions of this kind are dis- 
tinguished by a remarkably florid style. By his 
appointment, and under his immediate superin- 
tendence, the Stufen-bucher or Step-books (see Ap- 
pendix, and the article Muller) were in part com- 
posed and in part completed. Some historians have 
even ascribed the entire composition of these books 
to him alone. 

Makaroff (Peter Iwanowitsch), a major retired 
from the service, was born in 1765, and died at the 
end of the year 1804, on a journey from Moscow 
to Poland. Although his life is said to have been 
unusually eventful, he has, alas ! as yet found no bio- 
grapher. He translated the following works from 
the French : 1. The Count de St. Merang, or New 
Vagaries of the Heart and the Understanding, St. 
Petersburg, 1795 ; second edition, Moscow, 1800. 
2. The First Two Parts of Antenor's Travels in 
Greece and Asia, from Lantier, Moscow, 1802; the 
third part was translated by M. Jazenkoff. In 1803 
he edited the Moscow Mercury, which was rcmark- 

t2 



216 A LEXICON OF 

able for the correct, ingenious, and severe tone of 
criticism it displayed, and was of great advantage 
in forming the taste of the young writers of the day. 
The works and translations of Makaroff were printed 
at Moscow in 1805, in two parts, and a second edi- 
tion in 1817. 

Malghin (Timotheus Semenowitsch), collegiate 
assessor, and member of the Russian Academy, 
published: 1. The Mirror of the Russian Empire 
from 862 to 1794, etc. St. Petersburg, first edition, 
1791 ; second edition, 1794. 2. An Attempt at a 
Historical Inquiry into and Description of the An- 
cient Laws and Jurisprudence of the Russian Em- 
pire; and Upon the Property of Persons and Com- 
mercial Transactions in the same, St. Petersburg, 
1803. 3. An Attempt at a Historical Inquiry into 
the early Use and Nature of Money in the Russian 
Empire, St. Petersburg, 1810. Malghin died at 
St. Petersburg in 1820, aged 70. 

Malinofskj (Alexej Fodorowitsch), a privy coun- 
cillor, senator, and knight, chief keeper of the Mos- 
cow archives, was born at Moscow in 1763, and 
studied at that university. From the year 1780 
he was employed in the office of the above-men- 
tioned archives. During the time of his service 
there, he compiled several works on the subject of 
Russian history and diplomacy, but they were never 
printed. Under his direction and superintendence 
A Collection of Russian Records and other Public 
State Documents, was made by Konstantin Fodo- 
rowitsch Kalaidowitsch and Paul Michailowitsch 
StrojefT, which was printed at Moscow (the first 
part in 1813, and the second part in 1819, folio), 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 277 

at the expense of Count M. P. Rumiinzoff. Besides 
this, translations of various books which he had un- 
dertaken in his younger days, have been printed ; 
and in 1817 was published at Moscow, his Bio- 
graphical Notice of Prince D. M. Posharskj. Ka- 
laidowitsch and Strojeff compiled together at Mos- 
cow, in 1819, an edition of the Statutes of the Grand 
Prince John Wassiljewitsch, and of the Ssudebnik 
(see Appendix). The former of them also published 
in 1818, at Moscow, The Ancient History of Rus- 
sia, which had been collected by Kirscha DanilofF, 
and the latter A Short Russian History for begin- 
ners, Moscow, 1819. 

Marin. See Iwanoff. 

Martunoff (Iwan Iwanowitsch), acting council- 
lor of state and knight, member of the Upper-School 
Directory, of the Russian Academy, and of many 
other learned societies, was born in 1771, in the little 
town of Perewolotschna, and received his educa- 
tion at the seminary of Poltawa. After the year 
1789 he became teacher of the Greek and Latin 
languages, of poetry, and rhetoric, at the seminary 
of St. Alexander Newskj at St. Petersburg. In 
1795 he was made translator to the College for the 
Administration of Foreign Affairs; in 1802 he was 
registrar to the Imperial Council; and in 1803 
chancery-director of the Ministerial Bureau for the 
Education of the People, in the foundation of which 
also he had taken a prominent part. In 1S1G he 
was appointed a member of the Upper School-Di- 
rectory. The following translations have appeared 
from his pen : 1. The Thoughts of J. J. Rousseau, 
St. Petersburg, 1801. 2. The Walks of J. J. Rous- 



278 A LEXICON OF 

seau, St. Petersburg, 1801. 3. On the Sublime, 
from the Greek of Dionysius Longinus, with notes, 
St. Petersburg, 1802. 4. The poems of Anacreon, 
from the Greek, St. Petersburg, 1802. 5. Atala, 
a tale of Chateaubriand, St. Petersburg, 1802. 6. 
St. Julien, a romance, by A. Lafontaine, St. Peters- 
burg, 1802. 7. Susette's Dowry, a romance, by 
Madame de Semeterre, St. Petersburg, 1802. 8. 
Dupaty's Journey to Italy, two parts ; first edition, 
St. Petersburg, 1802 ; second edition, Moscow, 
1809 : and many others from Greek, French, Ita- 
lian, and German authors, which have not as yet 
all been printed. Some of them however are to be 
found in print in Pnin's St. Petersburg Journal, 
and in The Northern Messenger. Recently ap- 
peared from his pen : 1. The Technical Botanical 
Dictionary, St. Petersburg, 1 820 ; and 2. The Three 
Botanists, St. Petersburg, 1821. Besides all this 
he has been editor of the following journals : 1. 
The Muses, four parts, 1796. 2. The Northern 
Messenger, eight parts, 1804 and 1805. 3. The 
Lyceum, four parts, 1806. In the two last named 
are to be found some excellent critical papers. 

Massolskj, a novelist of the present day. His 
best known work is the historical romance called 
The Strelitzes. 

Matwajeff (Artemon Sergejewitsch), was governor 
of several towns, keeper of the great seal, minister 
for Foreign Affairs, supreme judge of the Tribunals 
of the Strelitzes and of Casan, director of the Mint, 
etc., and was born in the year 1625. This cele- 
brated minister and personal friend of the Czar 
Alexej Michailowitsch, was the most enlightened 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 279 

of all his contemporaries who were not of the cleri- 
cal profession. He was well acquainted with ele- 
gant literature, history, philosophy, and the other 
sciences, and loved the arts. He had his domestic 
chapel adorned by the paintings of Italian artists, 
and invited the ablest workmen to Russia. He 
was the first statesman of his time, and was also 
the author of several works. The second wife of 
the Czar Alexej Michailowitsch, the mother of Pe- 
ter the Great, Natalia Kirilowna Naruschkina, was 
his pupil. The love of the people for this worthy 
bojar was so great, that the poor, when they heard 
it was his wish to build a house, brought into the 
court-yard the stones from the graves of their fore- 
fathers to aid in its construction. After the death 
of the Czar Alexej Michailowitsch, he fell into dis- 
grace. Illnature and calumny armed themselves 
against him. Overwhelmed by the most shameful 
accusations, he was stript of his rank of bojar or 
noble, and of all his property, and driven into 
exile, together with his son. After the death of 
the Czar Alexej Alexejewitsch, he returned to 
Moscow, and was reinstated in all his former dig- 
nities ; but fourteen days only after his restoration 
he fell a victim (the 15th of May, 1682) to a rebel- 
lion among the Strelitzes. Of his works (without 
including his official labours, and his correspondence 
with different persons from his place of banish- 
ment) the following most deserve mentioning: 1. 
The Characters, Titles, and Seals of all the Grand 
Princes of Moscow, and the Independent Princes 
of all parts of the Russian Empire. 2. An Account 
of all the Grand Princes and Czars of Russia, who 



280 A LEXICON OF 

have made themselves known by their Victories 
and Conquests. To him also is ascribed the La- 
topiss on several Plots and Mutinies, which has 
been published by Prince Schtscherbatoff. 

Mausoroff, a modern poet. He is the author 
of The Last of the Bards, a poem, which appeared 
in Gretsch's periodical called The Son of the Coun- 
try. 

Maxim (the Greek), a monk of the Watopedisch 
monastery upon mount Athos, a native of Albania, 
studied the Belles Lettres at Paris, Florence, and 
other towns, acquired during that time a vast 
reputation for learning, and received in 1556 a 
summons to Moscow from the Grand Prince 
Wassilj Johannowitsch, to examine and write an 
account of all the Greek works which had been 
preserved at the Grand Prince's palace. The im- 
portance and rarity of these manuscripts excited 
the astonishment of Maxim. He made a copious 
and detailed catalogue of them all, and presented 
to the Grand Prince a list of those works, which 
did not yet exist in the Russian language. Was- 
silj engaged him to translate one of them into Rus- 
sian, viz. The Psalter Expounded, and gave him for 
this purpose two interpreters, Dimitrj and Wlassj, 
and for the writing out of the translation when 
completed, the monks Silwan and Michael Medo- 
warzeff as assistants. After seventeen months' em- 
ployment, Maxim presented his translation to the 
Grand Prince, and it was received with the greatest 
favour and applause by all the metropolitans and 
assembled clergy. These demonstrations of favour 
from the prince were however unable to dazzle the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 281 

strict monk. He requested permission to retire to 
mount Athos ; but he was prevailed upon to re- 
main at Moscow, to correct the many faults which 
had crept into the translations and copies of the 
sacred books. In this employment he was occupied 
nine years. In the meantime, some envious per- 
sons, who were jealous of his reputation and his 
good fortune, succeeded in accusing him before the 
Czar of ingratitude, and of perverting the meaning 
of passages in his exposition of the Scripture. Ir- 
ritated by the resistance of Maxim, Wassilj gave 
orders for his being" brought to trial. He was 
found guilty, and in the year 1525 banished to the 
Otrotschian monastery at Twer. All his pupils 
were confined in other separate monasteries, and 
his writings deposited in custody at the Zarenburg, 
or fortress of the Czars. The Czar Johann Was- 
siljewitsch allowed him to remove into the Sergian 
monastery of Troizka, at which place he died in 
1536. Maxim occupied himself both before and 
after his banishment in the composition of dog- 
matical, political, (polemical against the heretics,) 
philosophical, and moral writings, and was the au- 
thor of Answers to Several Questions ; A Book of 
Prayers ; and the like. Among other things, he 
also wrote An Inquiry into the Uses of Grammar, 
Pthetoric, and Philosophy, which is printed at the 
end of the Grammar of Meletj Smotrizkj ; by rea- 
son of which circumstance, that Grammar itself has 
been often wrongly attributed to Maxim. 

Maximoff. See Feodor. 

Meletj Smotrizkj, a hieromonach in a monas- 
tery at Wilna, and afterwards archbishop of Po- 



282 A LEXICON OF 

lozsk, died in 1663. His most remarkable work is 
A Sclavonic Grammar (compare article Maxim), 
which was printed at Jewie, near Wilna, in the 
year 1619, and is much more complete than the 
first Sclavonic grammar of Lawrentj Zisanj. 

Menschenin, the translator of the Letters on 
Chemistry. 

Merslakoff (Alexej Feodorowitsch), collegiate 
councillor, and knight, professor of poetry and elo- 
quence at the Imperial University of Moscow, 
member of the Russian Academy and many other 
learned societies, was born in 1778, in the town of 
Dalmatowa, in the government of Perm. His father 
was a merchant, but by no means wealty. Alexej 
Feodorowitsch, from his eleventh year and upwards, 
attended the chief national school at Perm, then 
under the guidance of the school-director, J. J. 
Panajeff. In his fifteenth year he wrote an ode on 
the peace with Sweden. Catherine the Second, 
who had received a copy of this ode from the su- 
perior director of national schools, Count P. W. 
Sawadofskj, commanded that it should be incor- 
porated in the monthly publications of the Academy 
of Sciences, and ordered 1 50 copies to be printed 
for the benefit of the author, whom she sent, as 
soon as he had completed his course of school stu- 
dies, to finish his further education at the LTniversity 
of Moscow, with directions that she should herself 
be informed of his progress at the end of every 
half year. Merslakoff was now therefore put under 
the care of M. M. Chcrasskoff, and in 1793 intro- 
duced to the Gymnasium of the university. Here 
he remained until 1797, and became a student, and 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. L>83 

already, in that capacity, with the permission of the 
university senate, gave public lectures upon Rus- 
sian grammar. He was soon afterwards, in 179S, 
advanced to a master's degree, and occupied the 
chair of poetry and eloquence. In 1805 he went, 
at the request of the curator of the university, M. 
M. Murawjeff, to St. Petersburg, where he spent 
the whole winter in the house of that learned, sens- 
ible, and benevolent dignitary. After his return 
to Moscow, he became a doctor and adjunct; in 
1807, extraordinary professor of poetry and elo- 
quence; and in 1810, ordinary professor, which 
appointment he has ever since continued to adorn. 
Besides his official labours at the university, he 
found time to occupy himself with his favourite 
pursuits, viz. the composition of original works, 
and translations, especially from the classics. In 
1810 a distinguished friend of literature, Prince 
Boriss Wladimirowitsch Goliziin, attended his lec- 
tures at the university, and engaged him to deliver 
a similar course at his private house, upon poetry 
and eloquence, in the presence of a select and 
noble audience. These lectures were held twice 
a week throughout the three winter months, and 
were attended by numbers of the nobility of the 
highest rank and of both sexes, and also by the first 
Ptussian literati of the day. In the succeeding year 
Merslakoff renewed these lectures, at the house of 
his excellence Herr Von Kokoschkin ; in the course 
of which, he first laid down a regular theory of the 
fine arts in general, and then proceeded to a criti- 
cal analysis of the most famous Russian poets in 



2S4 A LEXICON OF 

particular. Merslakoff's writings are as follows : 
1. Translations from the Ancient Writers and 
Works ready for publication, three parts. Many 
of these have appeared in different journals, espe- 
cially in the Transactions of the Moscow Society 
for the Friends of Russian Literature. 2. Lectures 
on Literature, containing a complete Theory of the 
Sciences and Fine Arts, as well as criticisms on the 
best Russian Authors, in 4 volumes, " wherein," as 
A. Bestuscheff remarks, " in stating his opinion as a 
judge of the mother-tongue without pedantry or dry- 
ness, he has classified, appreciated, and individualised 
each writer according to his just merits." (Com- 
pare for instance, the article Lomonossoff). 3. The 
Poetics of Aristotle, translated from the Greek, with 
the notes of Ramler and others. This work was 
begun to be printed just before the invasion of the 
French, but the greater part, not only of the already 
printed sheets, but of the translation itself, was 
destroyed in the general conflagration at Moscow. 
The author had the perseverance to begin again, and 
succeeded in bringing the work to a conclusion. 4. 
Horace's Epistle to the Pisos on the Art of Poetry. 
Many editions of this epistle had been published. 
The author, however, being anxious to republish it 
with copious notes, set about a new edition, of 
which ten sheets had actually been completed, when 
this also was destroyed on the same occasion ; but 
the manuscript was preserved. 5. Virgil's Eclogues, 
with notes, Moscow, 1S07. 6. Idyls, by Madame 
de Deshouillieres, Moscow, 1807. 7. Chosen Scenes 
from the old Greek Tragedians ./Eschylus, Euripi- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 285 

des, and Sophocles, with critical and historical 
notes. Some of these scenes were got up and 
represented at the private theatres of noblemen. 
Many of them are to be found printed in the Eu- 
ropean Messenger, in the Amphion, and elsewhere. 
8. A Fragment of the Theory of Universal Litera- 
ture, from Eschenburg °. Of the Rhetoric, the third 
edition appeared at Moscow in 1820 ; and the 
Poetics at the same place. 9. A Discourse on the 
Genius of the Poetry of the Ancients, and on its in- 
fluence on the civilization and education of the peo- 
ple (Moscow). 10. A Panegyrical address to the 
Emperor Alexander the First, on the conclusion of 
the Holy National War, Moscow, 1814. 11. Am- 
phion, a Journal, in twelve volumes, published in 
the course of 1815. 12. Jerusalem Delivered, from 
Tasso, translated into metre, a work which he has 
entirely finished, but not yet committed to the 
press. Specimens of it are to be found in the Eu- 
ropean Messenger. Herr Merslakoff is now en- 
gaged in the composition of A Complete Course of 
Literature ; a work which is to comprise the sub- 
stance of all the lectures which he has delivered at 
different times at the university. In the department 
of Russian literature, Merslakoff occupies without 
dispute the first place among theorists and critics. 
Michael Dessnizkj, metropolitan of Novogorod, 



Note by the Translator. — John Joachim Eschenburg, who died at 
Brunswick in 1820, is best known (independently of the work mentioned 
in the text) as a translator from the English. His Shakspeare was long 
considered the best; and he also translated some of our best metaphy- 
sicians and critics, as Brown, Webb, Burney, Fuseli, llurd, and a num- 
ber of others. 



286 A LEXICON OF 

St. Petersburg, and Finland, knight of many orders, 
president of the Holy Synod, of the Commission for 
Places of Religious Instruction, and of many learned 
societies, was born in the Governmental Department 
of Moscow, in the year 1752. In 1792, when he 
was merely priest of the parish of St. John at Mos- 
cow, he already attracted by his sermons the atten- 
tion of the friends and admirers of pulpit eloquence. 
In 1799 he became a monk, was soon promoted to 
the rank of archimandrite, and appointed a mem- 
ber of the Synod, and religious lecturer in the first 
Cadet Corps. In 1802 he received consecration 
as vicarious bishop of the metropolitan district of 
Novogorod ; in 1803 he was translated to the epar- 
chy of Tschernigoff ; in 1806 appointed archiman- 
drite, and on the 26th of March, 1818, metropoli- 
tan of St. Petersburg, Esthonia, and Finland, united 
on the 25th of June with Novogorod. He died at 
St. Petersburg, on the 24th of March, 1821. The 
venerable Michael, whose whole life was devoted to 
Christianity, was most zealous in increasing the 
number and perfecting the condition of the clerical 
schools within the eparchy intrusted to his bene- 
ficent superintendence ; he spent large sums from 
his own purse upon them, and educated numbers 
of poor scholars at his personal cost. He was, as 
we have above mentioned, one of the most eloquent 
preachers which Russia has had to boast. The 
sermons which he delivered from time to time in 
his ministry, appeared from 1S16 to 1820, at St. 
Petersburg, under the title, Discourses delivered 
at various places and on various occasions ; in ten 
volumes. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 287 

Mickiewicz, Adam, (inserted by the translator). 
We feel persuaded that no apology will be required 
of us for inserting here a name so distinguished as 
that of Adam Mickiewicz. The author of this work, 
while he gives us a history of Sclavonic literature 
in general, and has even inserted numerous Polish 
names connected with the early period of the 
church, which are far less interesting to the ma- 
jority of readers, has omitted nearly entirely to 
give notices of the more recent ornaments of the 
literature of Poland, although that country has at 
the present day the misfortune to form a consti- 
tuent part of the Russian empire. This is proba- 
bly to be accounted for by the general political 
bias which pervades the whole work, and which 
however is ascribable rather to Gretsch and other 
Russian writers from whom the materials have been 
derived, than to the author himself. Mickiewicz 
has too much identified himself with the spirit of 
liberty, and of Polish patriotism, to admit of his 
name being celebrated by a Russian writer, who, in 
speaking of him, could in justice only have pro- 
claimed his praise. The following notice has been 
in a great measure extracted from the Conversa- 
tions-Lexicon : " Adam Mickiewicz may be consi- 
dered without a rival as the most distinguished 
living poet of Poland. He was born in Lithuania, 
in the year 1798, of noble but poor parents, re- 
ceived his first education at Novogrodek, and after- 
wards at the Gymnasium at Minsk ; in 1815 went 
to the University of Wilna, and some years later 
became himself a teacher in the school of Kowno. 
By his brilliant talents, and unremitting industry, 



288 A LEXICON OF 

he soon won the favour of many valuable friends ; 
but the germ of his slumbering genius for poetry 
was first awakened in him by his love for the sister 
of one of his friends at Wilna. When this lady, 
since unpropitious circumstances divided their loves, 
gave her hand to another, Mickiewicz portrayed his 
unfortunate passion in a poem called Dziady, or 
The Festival of the Dead. After he had published 
at Wilna, in 1822, a collection of his scattered 
poems, the edicts of proscription, which were di- 
rected against the university of Wilna, reached him 
in 1823. He was detained for a long time in pri- 
son ; but as no evidence could be adduced to cri- 
minate him as a conspirator, he was remanded 
into the interior of Russia, to be kept with many 
others under a strict surveillance. In his exile he 
made a journey to the Crimea; and composed on the 
shores of the Black sea those beautiful sonnets by 
which he won the goodwill of the military governor 
of Moscow, Prince Gallitzin, who invited him to 
Moscow in the year 1826, and desired him to con- 
tinue as his guest, and under whose patronage the 
sonnets were printed ; (the same which were trans- 
lated into German by Schwab, and appeared in 
the Deutschen Musenalmanach for the year 1833). 
While protected by Galitzin he acquired an un- 
common reputation at St. Petersburg by his rare 
gift of improvisation. There he published in 1828 
his epic poem Conrad W^allenrod, translated into 
German by Kannegiesser, Leipsic, 1S34, which has 
almost become a national epic among the Poles. 
After his romances and ballads, the next important 
poem which he published was the Ode to Youth, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 289 

a poem so famous and so popular, that the last 
words of it being written upon the wall of the 
council-house of Warsaw on the 30th of Novem- 
ber, 1830, were echoed by ten thousand voices of 
the inspirited people, and hailed as a favourable 
omen to their cause. The interesting fortunes of 
the poet himself increased the enthusiasm that was 
kindled by his verse. At last he obtained, by the 
exertions of some of his admirers, permission to 
make a journey into foreign countries. He tra- 
velled through Germany and France, and was in 
Italy when the Polish revolution of 1830 broke 
out. In the year 1831 he lived at Dresden, and 
in the summer of 1832 changed the place of his 
abode to Paris, where in the course of the same 
year he published as a fourth volume to the old set, 
by the title Poezye, 1828, a part of his most recent 
poems, which far surpass all that he had written 
before. The preface gives a general view of the 
state of poetry in modern Europe generally, and 
the author shows himself to be well acquainted 
with the history of German literature in particular. 
The fate of his native country gave to his genius 
in late years a predominantly political bias, which 
he indulged, especially in a work called Ksiegi na- 
rodu Polskiego i Pielgryzmstwa Polskiego, Paris, 
1832 ; a book which, composed in a prose written 
in imitation of the old biblical style, shadows out 
the past and the future fates of Poland. It was 
translated into German under the title of The Polish 
People and the Polish Pilgrimage, 1833: and into 
French by the title of Le Pelcrbi de Pologiiu, by 
the intimate friend of the author, the talented young 



290 A LEXICON OF 

Comte de Mortelembert. The last work of Mie- 
kiewiez is Pan Tadeusy, i. e. Thaddeus, an epic 
poem, Paris, 1834. 

Milonoff (Michael Wassiljewitsch), titular coun- 
cillor, member of several learned societies, was born 
in 1792, studied at the University of Moscow, and 
distinguished himself early there by his extraor- 
dinary abilities in all literary attainments. He 
served in different offices and capacities ; amongst 
others, under the minister of justice, J. J. Dmitri- 
jeff, and in the commission appointed to sit at Mos- 
cow for the relief of those who had suffered through 
the invasion of the enemy. He died at St. Peters- 
burg, October 1 7th, 1 82 1 . Milonoff was the author 
of some beautiful poems in the lyric and didactic 
style. His elegies, epistles, and satires, enjoy a most 
extensive popularity. Sublimity, intelligence, and 
feeling are expressed in them throughout by a lan- 
guage which breathes a pure, chastened, and agree- 
able, but most moving melancholy. His poems 
were in part printed at St. Petersburg in 1819, under 
the title, Satires, Epistles, and other Minor Poems 
of Michael Milonoff. Shortly before his death, he 
had begun a poem on the Creation of the World. 

Mogila. See Peter. 

Morawskj, a Pole. Vide article Wasemskj. 

Muller (Gerhard Friedrich), acting state coun- 
cillor, director of the Moscow Archives in the 
College of Foreign Affairs, Russian historiographer, 
knight of the order of St. Wladimir, third class, 
member of several academies and learned bodies, 
was born on the Sth of October, 1705, at Herford, 
in Westphalia. He received his first literary edu- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 291 

cation at the Gymnasium of that place, and after- 
wards studied at the universities of Rinteln and 
Leipsic. In 1725 he went to Russia, and was ap- 
pointed as adjunct in history and geography at the 
then newly-opened Academy of Sciences. In 1730 
he was made professor and member of the Academy 
of Sciences, and sent out the next year into foreign 
countries to execute commissions suggested by the 
Academy. From 1733 to 1743 he travelled about 
Siberia, in order to bring home accurate accounts 
of the geography and history of those parts. In 
1 747 the Academy named him secretary of Con- 
ferences, which office he held for eleven years. In 
the year 1766 he was appointed a member of the 
Imperial College for Foreign Affairs, by which he 
also acquired the custody of the Moscow archives 
of that college. He died at Moscow, October 4th, 
1783. Muller fills a distinguished place not only 
among the foreigners who have been employed in 
the service of Russia, but in the number of Russian 
writers themselves. Without enumerating here all 
his writings, translations, and editions (of which the 
23rd number of the Son of the Country for the 
year 1821, gives a detailed account), we will only 
mention his most important labours on the subject 
of Russian history and literature. From 1732 to 
1764 he published a periodical work in the German 
language, entitled A Collection of Russian History, 
through which he conveyed to both Russians and 
foreigners, a quantity of useful information re- 
specting the ancient and modern history and geo- 
graphy of Russia. From 1755 he edited for the 
Academy of Sciences, the first scientific and lite- 



292 A LEXICON OF 

rary journal published in Russia, called Monthly 
Sheets for Use and Amusement, which has contri- 
buted infinitely to extend in Ptussia the taste for 
literary occupation. He then wrote a History of 
Siberia, of which however only the first part was 
printed, at St. Petersburg in 1750. The most im- 
portant service however which he conferred upon 
Russia, consisted in his editing and causing to be 
published, a number of old Russian works, which 
had been preserved in MS., of which the most re- 
markable are the following: 1. The Ssudebnik, or 
Statute-book, of the Czar John Wassiljewitsch, 
Moscow, 1768. 2. A Russian History, composed 
by W. N. TatischtschefF, Moscow, 1768, 1769: 
1773 and 1774. 3. The Kernel of Russian History, 
by Prince ChilkofT, Moscow, 1771. 4. A Geo- 
graphical Lexicon of the Russian Empire, compiled 
by Feodor Polunin, Moscow, 1773. 5. Letters of 
Peter the Great to Count Boris Petrowitsch Sche- 
remetjefF, Moscow, 1774. 6. The Stufenbuch, or 
Step-book, in two parts, Moscow, 1771-1774. See 
Appendix. 

Murawjeff-Apostoll (I wan Matwajewitsch), pri- 
vy councillor and knight, member of numerous 
learned societies, was Russian Minister at Ham- 
burg, and at the court of Madrid, and now lives 
at his own estate in Little Russia, where he devotes 
his time and talents to enriching the literature of 
his country by translations of the classics. His 
prose translation of The Satires of Horace, is 
printed in the Transactions of the Society of the 
Lovers of the Russian Language; and in 1821 was 
published at St. Petersburg his translation, also in 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 293 

prose, and printed with the original text, of the 
Clouds of Aristophanes. His Letters from Mos- 
cow to Nischnj-Novogorod, are known to all friends 
of literature. They formed, in 1813, 1814, and 
1815, one of the chief ornaments of the journal 
called the Son of the Country. 

Murawjeff (Michael Nikititsch), privy council- 
lor and senator, assistant to the minister for Public 
Instruction, curator of the University of Moscow, 
and knight, member of many learned societies, was 
born at Smolensk, the 25th of October, 1757. His 
father (the councillor of state, Nikita Artamono- 
witsch Murawjeff) was sent to Orenburg as an as- 
sistant of the government, and there first began the 
education of Michael Nikititsch. In 1765 he com- 
menced the study of the German language, under 
an inhabitant of Orenburg, named Kalau ; and his 
father, who had been an officer in the engineers, 
taught him mathematics. In his eleventh year he 
travelled with his father to Moscow, and attended 
there, first the Gymnasium, and afterwards the 
University. When seventeen years old, he came to 
St. Petersburg, entered the Ismailoff regiment of 
guards, and still did not abandon his literary and 
scientific pursuits ; for he attended the public read- 
ings of the professors at the Academy of Sciences, 
and made frequent use of the library there. In 
1776 he was selected to be one of the parties em- 
ployed in arranging the Free Collection at the 
Moscow University, but nevertheless still continued 
to hold his commission in the guards. His distin- 
guished talents and learning attracted the attention 
of Catherine, and in 1785 he was made knight, 



294 A LEXICON OF 

and appointed to be tutor to the young Grand- 
Princes Alexander and Constantine Paulowitsch, 
whom he instructed in morals, and in the literature 
and history of Russia. In the course of this ser- 
vice he was promoted to the rank of colonel. When 
he had completed his share of their highnesses' 
education, he was transferred into the public ser- 
vice of the state. In 1800 he became a senator, 
and in 1801 was appointed secretary of state by 
the late Emperor Alexander. In 1802, as assistant 
to the minister for Public Instruction, in company 
with N. N. Nowosilzoff, Count P. A. Stroganoff, 
F. J. Klinger, Count S. O. Potozki, and Prince A. 
A. Tschartoriisskj (Czartoryski), he took an active 
part in the management of this new and important 
branch of administration in Russia, and especially 
occupied himself in regulating and perfecting the 
University of Moscow, which had been confided to 
his auspices, and which still remembers and will 
ever remember his name with honour and affec- 
tion. He died at St. Petersburg, the 29th of July, 
1807. Murawjeff began early to occupy himself 
with literature, and this noble passion did not even 
abandon him till the moment of his death. In 
1776 some poems of his composition, and amongst 
them a few in hexameter verses, were printed in 
the papers of the Free Moscow Collection. As he 
valued the discharge of his duties, as of far higher 
consequence than all the gratified vanity of author- 
ship, he devoted all his time while tutor of the 
Grand Princes to their instruction, and wrote al- 
most exclusively for his noble pupils. Of these 
works he only printed ten copies of each ; but they 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 295 

are such that he himself ever read them with sa- 
tisfaction, and in doing so corrected and improved 
them. In 17S9 were printed : 1. The Good Child. 
2. Emil's Letters. 3. Dialogues of the Dead. 4. The 
Inhabitant of the Suburbs, in 1796. Essays on His- 
tory, Literature, and Morals, under which title Herr 
von Karamsin published some of his works in 1810, 
and in 1820 a complete collection of them was pub- 
lished at St. Petersburg, in three volumes. A re- 
lative and pupil of this distinguished author, we 
mean K. N. Batjuschkoff, wrote a very fine cri- 
ticism on his works, which is to be found in the 
Sketches in Prose and Verse, by Konstantine Bat- 
juschkoff, 1 thaler, pages 81. Of the critical re- 
marks which are there found, we have selected the 
following : " The collection of MurawjefPs works 
comprises principally several minor works which he 
had written separately for the use of his young and 
royal pupils. He was anxious to encourage the 
power of thought, and move the imagination of 
their youth by displaying the historical characters 
of illustrious men, especially of the Russian Grand 
Princes and Czars ; and for this purpose he availed 
himself, like Fontenelle, of the plan of making their 
shades converse in the other world. These Dia- 
logues of the Dead, and the Letters of an Inhabi- 
tant of the Suburbs, may be placed in the hands 
of teachers, as quite equal to the best productions 
of foreign writers. In them the precepts of mo- 
rality are set forth with so much clearness, with so 
much goodness of heart, and arrayed in so beauti- 
ful a style, that the severest critic can only speak 
of them in terms of eulogy. The other essays be- 



296 A LEXICON OF 

long to a higher walk in literature. Among them 
the tale of Oskold is rich in beauties, in which the 
author describes a campaign of the people of the 
North against Constantinople. It is greatly to be 
lamented that this work remains incomplete, and 
forms but the beginning of a larger work, which 
the author appears to have contemplated. To- 
wards the end of his life, he occupied himself less 
with the Muses, but dedicated his time to the 
reading of the ancients in the original languages, 
and especially of the Greek historians, for whom 
he had early contracted a deep and lasting par- 
tiality. The historical essays of Murawjeff deserve 
especial notice, and we may venture to assert, since 
in so doing we only repeat the opinion of the best 
judges, that scarcely anything has been achieved 
in the Russian language on the subject of his- 
tory, equal to his Sketch of Russian History, which 
was first printed in 1810. The philosophical and 
moral writings of our author remain still to be no- 
ticed. Here, more than in any other department, 
there is room to discover his soul, and the fine 
promptings of his heart, so that the same observa- 
tion may be made of him which Schiller made of 
Matthisson u . "Here we find the author himself, 
and become as it were personally and intimately 
acquainted with him. Human taste can counterfeit 

" Note of the Translator. — Friederich de Matthisson, a German 
lyric poet, who died at Wiirlitz in 1831, in his 71st year, must be the 
person alluded to; but we have not been so fortunate as to rind the obser- 
vation of Schiller referred to in the text. Matthisson was much esteemed 
in his day, ;iinl some of his descriptions of nature arc first rate ; but m his 
general writings, melody of versification is perhaps apparenl rather than 
powei "i imagination or depth of thought. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 297 

all other things but the real feelings of a good 
heart ; and in this consists the peculiar originality 
of our author. He discovers perpetually, and as 
it were in spite of himself, the most tender soul, 
and the most refined good-heartedness ; and this 
especially in the fragment, Civilisation and Luxury, 
in which, while sketching the eccentric character 
of Rousseau, he allows the force of his subject to 
lead him into a sweet vision with him whom he 
is describing: his disposition is equally displayed 
in his Essay on Happiness, in which, in describing 
the perceptions of joy, he allows himself to be car- 
ried away by his imagination, and reposes amidst 
the tranquillity of the country, and in the lap of 
that nature which he so much adored. He is an 
author that may be read at all times alike, as 
well in the tumult of society as amid the deep stil- 
ness of solitude. His words are like the words of an 
old friend, who while speaking of himself in heart- 
felt simplicity, reminds us of our own life, our pas- 
sions, our sorrows, our hopes, and our joys. He 
imparts to us the repose and purity of his own 
soul, and ever leaves an enduring impression of 
his lectures in our memory. In one word — the very 
burthen itself of sorrow and care — I borrow his own 
words, falls from us at hearing his consolatory ap- 
peal. It has long ago been said that an author's style 
is a mirror of his soul ; and of our author the re- 
mark may be most correctly repeated. His style 
resembles that of Fenelon : the same purity and 
precision of expression, and harmony of thought, 
and the same heartfelt and irresistible eloquence. 



298 A LEXICON OF 

Educated in the school of antiquity, his writings 
bear the ineffaceable stamp of classic beauty — sim- 
plicity, dignity, and aptitude of expression. The 
poems of Murawjeff should unquestionably be 
classed in the same rank with the best of his prose 
works. In them the same dignified philosophy is to 
be found, the source of which is a good and sympa- 
thising heart, with a select imagery, and a purity 
and correctness of style which can only result from 
a careful reading of the writings of the classics." 

Mussin Puschkin (Count Alexej Iwanowitsch), 
acting privy councillor, and knight, was born in 
1774, was engaged in the military profession till 
1 794, in which year he was appointed privy coun- 
cillor of state, and in the following year upper-pro- 
curator of the Synod, senator, chief of the Mine 
Cadet Corps, and chief of the Academy of Arts. 
In 1799 he left the public service, and died in 1817. 
Count Mussin Puschkin was a warm friend and 
connoisseur of Russian Antiquities. He rescued 
from oblivion many valuable materials for Russian 
history, although a great part of the collection he 
had made was unfortunately lost at Moscow in the 
confusion of the year 1812. Russia has to thank him 
particularly for: 1. The discovery in 1796, and the 
publication in 1S00, of Igor's Address to his Army, 
printed at Moscow. 2. The ascertaining of the 
exact situation of the place called Tmutarakana : 
A Historical Inquiry for fixing the position of the 
Ancient Principality of Tmutarakana, St. Peters- 
burg, 1794. 3. The production in print of the 
Law of Russia, St. Petersburg, 1792, and Moscow, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 299 

1799. 4. The printing of the Canon Law, by 
Wladimir Monomach, St. Petersburg, 1793. 

N. 

Nartoff (A. A.), president of the Russian Aca- 
demy, died in the year 1814. Many of his writings 
are published in the Transactions of the Russian 
Academy. 

Narashn'uj (Wassilj Trofimowitsch), collegiate 
assessor, was born in 1781, in the Governmental 
Department of Poltawa. He was educated at 
the University of Moscow, from 1792 to 1801. 
Afterwards he was employed in the cabinet of the 
Emperor Alexander. His first works were : 1. The 
Bloody Night, a tragedy in the old taste, in regular 
verses of five feet. 2. The Day of Crime and Ter- 
ror, a dramatic work, in prose. Both works are to 
be found inserted in the periodical called Agreeable 
and Useful Pastime, Moscow, 1798. His other 
printed works are : 3. The Pseudo-Dimitrj, a tra- 
gedy, in prose, Moscow, 1802, represented on the 
stage at the same place. 4. Sclavonic Evenings, 
first number, St. Petersburg, 1809. Among others 
of his works not yet printed, is Helena, a tragedy, 
in the common six-feet measure. He is also the 
author of The Russian Gil Bias, a romance in six 
parts ; and other works. 

Neledinskj-Melezkj (Jurj Alexandrowitsch),was 
born in 1751, and entered the military service in 
his youth. From 1770 to 1774 he served in the 
war against the Turks ; but after the conclusion of 
peace, he was rewarded with the rank of Premier- 



300 A LEXICON OF 

Major, and sent to Constantinople as attache to the 
embassy. After this he served in Finland, and in 
1786 retired with the rank of colonel. The Em- 
peror Paul the First engaged him in the public 
service once more, as councillor of state, and in- 
trusted to him the reading and answering of all 
petitions to the government. In 1797 and 1798 
he accompanied that monarch to Moscow, Casan, 
and White Russia. His zeal in the service was so 
highly approved of by the Emperor, that he received 
from him the rank of acting councillor of state, 
the order of St. Anne, first class, and a present of 
several hundred subjects or serfs of his own ; and 
in 1 800 he was advanced to the rank of a senator. 
In 1809 he was also decorated with the order of 
Stc Alexander Newskj. In literature Neledinskj ac- 
quired, at least among the educated and refined 
portion of the Russians, great reputation by his 
songs and romances, which exhibit much elegance 
and fire of feeling. Of his diplomatical papers, 
The Address of the Synod, The Imperial Council, 
and the Directing Senate, to his Majesty the Empe- 
ror Alexander the First, is best known. It is printed 
in the second part, page 233, of Gretsch's Manual 
of Russian Literature. The principal efforts of this 
elegant writer may be found scattered over most of 
the periodicals of his day, and it is a cause of 
regret to the real friends of Russian literature that 
they have not yet been printed together in a col- 
lected form. 

Nestor (the most revered name in the whole 
compass of ancient Russian literature). A monk 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 301 

of the Subterranean Monastery at Kieff, and justly 
surnamed "the Father of Russian History/' was 
born in 1056. The place of his birth is unknown, 
although it is pretty certain that he was a native 
of Russia. Of the particulars of his life we only 
know so much, that he came to the above-men- 
tioned monastery in the eighteenth year of his age, 
that he was admitted by the igumen Stephen to 
the office of monk, and that he was afterwards con- 
secrated a deacon. In 1091 he received the com- 
mission, in company with two other brothers of the 
cloister, to go and search for the bones of Saint 
Theodosius, and it was his good fortune to find 
them. After this, he dedicated his entire life to 
writing on the history of his native country, and 
collecting proper materials. It is most probable 
that his death took place in 1111. He has left to 
posterity a valuable memorial of his research in the 
Russian Latopiss, or Chronicle ; many copies of 
which have descended to our own time, illustrated 
with chronological notes from the year 852, and 
which extends from the oldest times to the period 
of his own death. The best manuscripts of this 
chronicle, according to Karamsin, were the Paper- 
Codices of the 14th and 15th centuries ; the first 
belonged to Count A. J. Mussin Puschkin, and the 
other to the Troizkan Monastery. They were 
both burnt at Moscow in 1812. The MS. of the 
Susdalishian monk Lawrentj (Laurentius) upon 
parchment, dating from the 14th century, is in the 
Imperial Public Library. The earliest printed co- 
pies were : 1. That of Radziwill, or Konigsberg, St. 
Petersburg, 1767, which however is extremely in- 



302 A LEXICON OF 

correct. From this copy a French translation was 
published, under the title, La Chronique de Nestor, 
traduite en Francals, d'apres Vedition lmperiale de 
St. Petersburg, MS. de Kbnigsberg, 2 vols, large 
8vo. Paris, Heideloff et Campe, price 4 thalers. 2. 
That of Nikon, in 8 vols. St. Petersburg, 1767, 
1792. And 3. that of the Sophia Library, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1 796. But the most valuable edition of 
Nestor's Chronicle is that of Schlozer, which he 
did not venture to publish till after he had spent 
forty years in its completion. In it he has thrown 
light upon the obscure passages, corrected the 
faults, and recovered parts of it which had been 
lost in the lapse of time, by carefully comparing the 
different manuscripts with each other, and by re- 
ferring constantly to the Byzantine annalists, who 
were used by Nestor as a fountain-head. Schlo- 
zer's labours, which concluded with the reign of Ja- 
ropolk, appeared in the German language at Got- 
tingen, 1802-1809, in 5 vols. Jasiikoff translated 
this work into Russian, and published it in three 
volumes, under the title of Nestor, or The Russian 
Latopisse, in the old Sclavonic Dialect, collated, 
translated, and illustrated, by A. L. Schlozer, 1S09- 
1819, St. Petersburg. Nestor was a very learned 
man in his time. He understood perfectly the Greek 
language, and read the Byzantine historians, from 
whom he translated many passages, and inserted 
them in his Chronicle. His information he derived 
from contemporaneous traditions (probably also from 
still more ancient Latopisses), and he derived groat 
advantage from the recollections of his brother in 
the cloister, the monk Jan, who died in 1106, at 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 303 

the age of 91 years, and who was born consequently 
in 1015, i. e. one year after the death of the Grand 
Prince Wladimir. Much however of Nestor's work 
consists of what he was enabled to record as a con- 
temporary and an eyewitness. Truth shines evi- 
dently in all his writings. His style is equal, and 
resembles the biblical books. The persons whom 
he mentions, are made to speak in the language 
of the historical books of the Old Testament. 
He frequently interweaves sentences taken from 
Holy Writ, and subjoins pious moral reflections. 
His illustrious editor, Schlozer, says of him, " With- 
out this brother of the cloister, what should we 
ever have known about the entire history of the 
Upper North, down to the eleventh century ! 
But this chronicle is still more important in rela- 
tion to the people for which it ivas written ; who 
by following the example of its author, acquired 
a taste for reading and writing, and never lost those 
arts again through all the melancholy times and 
centuries of actual barbarism that followed." The 
Latopisse of Nestor was continued after his death 
by others. 

Newachowitsch (Leff Nikolajewitsch), titular 
councillor, now resides in Warsaw, and is author 
of the drama, The Suliotes, or The Spartans of the 
Eighteenth Century, which was first played at St. 
Petersburg in 1810, and afterwards printed. This 
drama is one of the most remarkable productions 
of its class in Russian. Besides this he has pub- 
lished : 1. Man in a State of Nature, or The 
Correspondence of Two Enlightened Friends, St. 



304 A LEXICON OF 

Petersburg, 1804. 2. The Lamentation of the 
Daughter of Israel, St. Petersburg, I S03. 

Niemcewicz, a Pole. See article Wasemskj. 

Newmann. See Ewers. 

Nikiphor, metropolitan of Kieff and all Russia, 
a Greek by birth, came to Ptussia in 1106, and died 
in April, 1121. He was a modest and learned man. 
Of his works the following remain : 1. Official Let- 
ters to the Grand Prince Wladimir Wsewolodo- 
witsch Monomach, upon the Separation of the 
Eastern and Western Churches. 2. Upon Fasting 
and Continence. The first is to be found in MS. 
in the Synodal Library at Moscow, and the second 
is printed in the first volume of the Memorabilia, 
which were published by the Moscow Historical 
and Antiquarian Society. 

Nikitin (Afanassj), a merchant of Twer, made a 
journey in the year 1470 to the East Indies, and 
after having engaged in some traffic in the kingdom 
of Golconda, wrote a journal of his travels. Ka- 
ramsin, who discovered this journal in an old chro- 
nicle, speaks of it as follows : " Although this jour- 
nal displays neither the talent of observation, nor 
deep learning, yet it must be in any case interest- 
ing to us, when we reflect how utterly unacquainted 
we are with the state and condition of India at the 
time to which it refers. This is not the proper 
place for me to enter into details ; I will therefore 
only say that this traveller left Twer by the Wolga, 
and proceeded to Astracan ; and even went as far 
as the Tatar towns of Usslan and Bereksana. From 
Astracan he went to Derbent, Bokhara, Masande- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 305 

ran, Amol, Kaschan, Ormus, Maskat, Guzerat, and 
beyond to the countries behind the Indian moun- 
tains as far as Beder, where is the capital of the 
Great Sultan of Chorasan. He saw the Indian 
Jerusalem ; i. e. according to all probability, the 
famous temple of Elora. He names towns which 
are now vainly sought for in any map; notes all that 
is remarkable ; displays his astonishment at the 
luxury of the grandees, and indigence of the peo- 
ple ; blames not only the superstition, but also the 
corrupted morals of the inhabitants, who recognise 
the religion of Brama ; above all, he is cautious for 
the sake of the orthodox and religious Russians, 
fearing lest any of his countrymen, led by the re- 
port of Indian treasures, should be minded to fol- 
low him to this pretended paradise of merchants, 
where there is plenty of pepper and brilliant co- 
lours, but little that is proper for Russia. At last 
he returns to Ormus, and having travelled through 
Ispahan, Sultania, and Trebisond, and arrived at 
Kaffa, determines to write the history of his six 
years' expedition, which, except the pleasure of 
writing about it, had been productive of little be- 
nefit to him; for the Turkish Pachas took away 
from him a great part of the goods which he 
had imported. This account, moreover, at least 
proves that Russia had in the fifteenth century her 
Taverniers and Chardins, who were it is true but 
ill-instructed, but yet so keen and enterprising that 
the Indians received a knowledge of them even 
earlier than of Portugal, Holland, and England. At 
a time when Vasco di Gama was only thinking 
about the possibility of discovering the route from 

x 



30G A LEXICON OF 

Africa to Hindostan, our Twer merchant was al- 
ready engaged in traffick on the Malabar coast, and 
conversing with the inhabitants there respecting the 
dogmas of their religion." 

Nikodim Sellj, a monk of the monastery of Alex- 
der Newskj, was born in the Danish town Ton- 
dern, educated in the Lutheran religion, and was 
called Adam Burchard Sellj. He studied philoso- 
phy, medicine, theology, and the belles lettres, at 
several of the German universities. In 1722 he 
made a journey to St. Petersburg, became a teacher 
at several clerical schools, served some time as se- 
cretary to the Count Lestoque, adopted in the year 
1744 the Greek faith, on which occasion he took 
the name of Nestor, and one year later became a 
monk, when the additional name of Nikodim was 
given him. He died in 1746, and was buried in 
the monastery of Alexander Newskj. Ever since 
his first coming to Russia, he had occupied himself 
upon the Russian language, and directed his atten- 
tion towards Russian history. He collected in MS. 
and printed books all that had ever been written 
about Russia, laboured himself uninterruptedly in 
copying and translating his different materials, and 
occupied himself in this way with some important 
works. In 1736 the following work was printed 
by him at Reval in the Latin language : Schediasma 
Literarium de Scriptoribus, qui Historiam Politico- 
Ecclesiasticam Rossice scriptis illustrarunt. The 
Russian translation of this small but useful book 
appeared at Moscow in 1815. Another little work 
of his, A Historical Mirror of Russian Monarchs 
from Rurik to the Empress Elizabeth Petrowna, 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 307 

was written in Latin verse ; the original has been 
lost, but the Russian translation is printed in the 
first part of the Ancient Russian Library. The 
third and most important of his works, De Rosso- 
rum Hierarchici, in five books, contains some very 
important and interesting information respecting 
the Russian church history, with a sketch of its 
earliest origin. The original manuscript is pre- 
served in the Archives of the Office for Foreign 
Affairs, and a translation of it appears in the first 
part of the History of the Russian Hierarchy. Be- 
sides this, Sellj left behind him a quantity of ma- 
nuscripts, extracts, journals, etc., which are all pre- 
served in the Library of St. Alexander Newskj. 

Nikoleff (Nikolai Petrowitsch), born in 1758, 
was educated in the house of the Princess Dasch- 
kowa, and served in the guards. When twenty- 
seven years old, he retired from the service, on 
account of the weakness of his sight. Soon af- 
terwards he became quite blind ; and while in 
this condition, literary occupations afforded him 
consolation and comfort. His most important work 
is Ssorena, a tragedy, in five acts, which won the 
applause of the assembled public and the favour of 
Catherine. The Russian Academy elected Niko- 
lofT a member of their body. He died in January, 
1816. 

Nikolskj (Alexander Ssergejewitsch), acting coun- 
cillor of state and knight, director of the chan- 
cery, and learned secretary to the department of 
the Admiralty, member of the Russian Academy, 
was born in 1755, in the government of Wladimir, 
and studied at the seminary of the Sergian Monas- 

x2 



308 A LEXICON OF 

tery of Troizka. He published, First Principles of 
Russian Eloquence, containing Grammar, Rhetoric, 
and Art of Poetry, St. Petersburg, 1816, third edi- 
tion. Besides this, he translated: 1. The Eloquence 
of the Scriptures shown to be Inimitable, a work 
of Nollin. 2. The Comforter, or upon Good and 
Evil, from Beausobre. 3. The Second part of the 
Travels of Anacharsis, and the fourth part of La- 
sarpe's Lyceum, which translations were published 
by the Russian Academy. The same society is now 
printing another translation of his from de Brosse, 
viz. An Inquiry into the Mechanical Connection of 
Languages, in two parts. His son, 

Nikolskj (Paul Alexandrowitsch), who died in 
1816, in the flower of his days, edited, 1. The jour- 
nal called The Flower-Bed, 1809 and 1S10 ; and 
2. The Pantheon of Prussian Poetry, 1804. 

Nikon, the sixth Patriarch of all Russia, born in 
1605, at Nischnj Novogorod, of parents in humble 
life, received his education from a pious monk in 
the monastery of St. Makarj Scheltowodskj, after- 
wards became a priest at Moscow, travelled to the 
hermitage of Ansersche, on the island of Solowez, in 
the White Sea, and was then made igumen (1643) 
of the Nischeoserschian Hermitage, in which ca- 
pacity he visited Moscow in 1646. The Czar Alexej 
Michailowitsch, who had learnt to admire the great- 
ness of his intellect, his rare ability, and his strict 
and virtuous life, desired that he should be con- 
secrated archimandrite of the Nomospaskian Mo- 
nastery at Moscow. Nikon, enjoying the entire con- 
fidence of the prince, took advantage of it to become 
the intercessor for poor widows, orphans, and the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 309 

persecuted and oppressed. In 1648 he acquired the 
dignity of metropolitan of Novogorod. The Czar 
gave him permission to go into the prisons, and to 
set at liberty not only those persons who had been 
unjustly confined, but also real criminals whom he 
found sincere in their repentance. Nikon was a 
liberal distributor of alms to the poor, gave them 
provisions during the time of the famine which 
took place, and ordered the erection of many 
almshouses. On feast-days he made a point of 
preaching, and his sermons were attended by crowds 
of people from distant parts, who were often moved 
to tears by his eloquence. He introduced into the 
churches the psalmody of the Greek service, and 
of Kieff, and gave a more costly fashion to the 
holy utensils and other furniture of the churches. 
He was anxious to increase the respectability of 
the clerical profession, and caused divine ser- 
vice to be performed with more devotion. In 
1650 he put down, at the hazard of his own life, 
the insurrection at Novogorod. In 1652, after the 
death of the patriarch Joseph, he was elevated to 
his place as patriarch, which enabled him to carry 
on his philanthropical works upon a larger scale. 
Besides all this, he took measures for the im- 
provement of the church books, and for making 
them more exact and faithful to the Greek ori- 
ginals. He called on that account the general as- 
semblies of the church in 1654 and 1655 ; and en- 
gaged persons to translate many useful works, both 
clerical and secular, into Russian. The Czar con- 
tinued to him his esteem and confidence; and when 
he went to join the army in a campaign, intrusted 
to him the care of the whole royal family ; lor 



310 A LEXICON OF 

which Nikon displayed the greatest attention and 
anxiety in the time of the plague, which desolated 
Moscow in 1653 and 1654. In 1658 some of Ni- 
kon's enemies contrived to inspire into the mind of 
the Czar a feeling of jealousy or dislike towards 
him. Nikon, who remarked this, was incensed at 
it, and retired to the monastery of the Resurrection 
of Christ ; which he had himself built, about forty 
wersts from Moscow. The misunderstanding be- 
tween the Czar and the patriarch grew continually 
wider. Nikon persisted that he would not return 
to Moscow. In 1667 a council was convened to 
deliberate on his case, under the presidency of the 
eastern patriarch ; and on the 12th of December of 
the same year, Nikon was deprived of the patri- 
archal dignity, and banished as a common monk to 
the Balooserschian Therapontic Monastery. The 
Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch allowed him to remove 
into the Monastery of the Resurrection of Christ ; 
but on his journey thither he died at Jarosslaw, in 
1681. His body was buried in the last-mentioned 
monastery, in the presence of the monarch, and 
there the deceased was again honoured with the 
title of patriarch. His absolution was next obtained 
from the eastern patriarch, and he was then pro- 
perly enrolled among the list of Russian patriarchs. 
The most, important of Nikon's literary labours, 
was the improvement of the Sclavonic church books, 
and setting them in accordance with the original 
Greek. In 1654 he despatched the hieromonach 
Arscnj SuchanofT into the east, and purchased 
through him more than 500 manuscripts of Greek 
books, from the eleventh to the seventeenth cen- 
tury, lie also made provision for the translation 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 311 

of a number of historical and geographical works 
from foreign languages into the Russian. Some 
of these, signed by his own hand, are still pre- 
served in the Synodal Library. He also drew up 
a collation of the Russian Chronicles, the Stufen- 
books, and the Greek Chronologists, which reaches 
to the year 1630, and is well known by the name 
of The Chronicle of Nikon. Of this codex, the 
Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg published a 
fine edition in eight volumes, 1767-1792. Com- 
pare article Schuscherin. 

Niphont, igumen in Volhynia, made a continua- 
tion of the Chronicle of Nestor, from 1116-1157. 

Nowikoff (Nikolaj Iwanowitsch), deserves an 
honourable place, if not among the classical writers 
of Russia, at least among the most zealous and suc- 
cessful promoters of enlightenment and literature. 
He was born on the 27th of April, 1744, at the vil- 
lage of Tichwensk, near Moscow. His parents, 
people of some property, gave him his first educa- 
tion, which was however very defective, in their 
own house. At eighteen years of age he was sent to 
be employed in the state service at St. Petersburg. 
There he had the fortunate opportunity of im- 
proving his natural faculties, and to gain informa- 
tion in various sciences, but particularly the most 
difficult science of all — the knowledge of the human 
heart. He soon gave up the military profession, 
retiring with the rank of cornet in the guards ; and 
occupied himself entirely with literature. In 1770 
he published a satirical journal, called The Painter, 
which has not yet lost its high public estimation, 
although the subsequent editions of it have been 



312 A LEXICON OF 

incorrectly printed. Soon after this, he had printed 
An Attempt at a Lexicon of Russian Authors ; 
without which the names and memorials of many 
Russian writers would have been lost to the me- 
mory, if not of the learned, yet of the public in 
general. But this work, which is now so much es- 
teemed, brought some of the sons of Apollo into 
enmity with its author, who is tolerably severe in 
his remarks on many of his contemporaries. The 
first labours of Nowikoff attracted the notice of 
the Empress. He soon afterwards went to Mos- 
cow, and there a wide field opened itself before 
him. From the year 1773 he edited The Ancient 
Russian Library, a collection of rare and remark- 
able monuments of Russian history at all periods. 
For the extension of useful knowledge in Russia, 
he established, with the permission of the govern- 
ment, a Typographical Society, consisting of learned 
and literary persons, the object of which was to 
publish good and useful books in the Russian lan- 
guage, and to sell them for a very moderate price. 
To facilitate the means of getting books, he founded 
the first circulating library at Moscow. Karamsin 
says of him, " Nowikoff was the chief encourager of 
the book trade at Moscow. After he had obtained 
a lease of the university press, he increased all the 
mechanical facilities for printing, procured the 
translation of books, established booksellers' shops 
in other towns, endeavoured by all the means in 
his power to infuse into the public a love of read- 
ing ; and while he knew well how to hit the gene- 
ral taste, did not forget to supply suitable nourish- 
ment for each particular fancy. He dealt with 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 313 

books as the rich Dutch or English merchant deals 
with the produce of different countries; that is to say, 
with circumspection and a far-sighted speculation. 
Previously to his time only 600 copies of the Moscow 
newspaper were sold ; Nowikoff increased and di- 
versified the nature of its contents, scattered a quan- 
tity of information on all subjects in addition to 
the political articles ; and at last published a gra- 
tuitous supplement, called Reading for Children, 
which brought the paper into great credit with the 
public by its novelty and the variety of its matter. 
The number of subscribers increased considerably 
every year, and at the end of ten years there were 
as many as 4000 copies regularly sold. These ex- 
ertions of Nowikoff for the general good, were in- 
terrupted by the unhappy state into which Europe 
was plunged by the French revolution. In com- 
mon with many other highly esteemed men, he 
was also a victim of suspicion, which government 
in those troublous times may be well justified in 
entertaining. His innocence was proved in the 
leign of Paul, and that high-minded monarch com- 
pensated him as far as he could for the persecution 
he had undergone. Nowikoff spent his latter days 
at his country estate at Tichwensk, where he in- 
structed his neighbours both by his precepts and 
his example. He died the 31st of July, 1818. 
The works which he published are as follows: 1. 
The Ancient Russian Library, ten vols. St. Peters- 
burg, 1773-1775; the continuation of this forms 
nine volumes more, St. Petersburg, 1786-1793. 
2. Journals : The Drone Bee, St. Petersburg, 176,9, 
1770; The Painter, two parts, St. Petersburg, 



314 A LEXICON OF 

1770; The Muses' Pedlar, St. Petersburg, 1772; 
The Evenings, St. Petersburg, 1772; The La- 
bourer at Rest ; The Self-Maintaining Citizen ; 
The Dawn of Day, St. Petersburg, 1778-1780; 
The Evening Twilight, Moscow, 1782. 3. An At- 
tempt at a Historical Dictionary of Russian Wri- 
ters, St. Petersburg, 1772. 

O. 

Obodowskj, a living poet, celebrated for the me- 
lody and power of his verses. He has translated 
Die Ahnfrau, or Banshee of Grillpiirzer, and the 
Don Carlos of Schiller. 

Oldekop (Augustus), acting member of the Cour- 
landish Society of Literature and Arts, editor of the 
new St. Petersburg German periodical, published 
in 1824 at St. Petersburg a German-Russian and 
Russian-German Dictionary. For the achievement 
of this work he used the recently published Dic- 
tionary of the Russian Academy, in six volumes, 
and that of the late Professor Heym. But his work 
is richer than that of Heym, by more than 2000 
words : and so this dictionary may be considered 
as the completest that has yet appeared. The 
same author has also compiled, Un Nouveau Dic- 
tionnaire de poche, Franca'is-Russe, ct Russe-Francais, 
precede dune Gramma ire abregee de ces deux Lan- 
gues, which was published at Berlin in 1830, by 
Asher. He has also given us a much-admired 
translation into German of Bulgarin's romance of 
Wuishigin. See the article Bulgarin. 

Olin has been very happy in the translation of 
some of the odes of Horace. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 315 

Oserezkofskj (Nikolai Jakowlewitsch), acting 
councillor of state and knight, member of the Up- 
per School Directory, and of many learned societies, 
was born in the year 1750. He received his scien- 
tific education at the Academical Gymnasium. In 
1768 he set out on his travels with the academician 
Lepechin, and remained till 1774. After this he 
continued his studies at Strasburg and Leyden: 
in 1778 took the degree of doctor of medicine: 
in 1779 was made an adjunct, and in 1782 a mem- 
ber of the Academy. In 1785 he undertook, at 
the suggestion of the Academy, a journey to the 
seas of Ladoga and Orega, to conduct some observa- 
tions on their physical phenomena. He published, 
1. A Description of a Journey to the Lakes of La- 
doga and Orega, St. Petersburg, 1786. 2. The 
Primary Principles of Natural History, and the 
Animal Kingdom ; a translation from the work of 
Professor Lesske, with additions and alterations, 
two parts, St. Petersburg, 1791. 3. C. C. Sallust's 
History of Catiline's Conspiracy and the War of 
Jugurtha, St. Petersburg, 1809. Many other ori- 
ginal works and translations by him are to be found 
in the Transactions of the Academy of Sciences. 

Oseroff (WladisslafF Alexandrowitsch), a major- 
general and knight, honorary member of many 
learned societies, was born on the 29th of Septem- 
ber, 1770, in the government of Twer. In 1776 
he was put into the Land Cadet Corps, where, 
during a stay of twelve years, he continued to make 
distinguished progress. In 1788 he entered the 
army as lieutenant, having won the first gold medal. 
After he had remained some years in the army, 



316 A LEXICON OF 

he was transferred to the civil service, and was 
associated with the department of the woods and 
forests. In 1808 he retired from duty, and died 
in November, 1816, after a tedious illness, in the 
course of which he entirely lost his mental faculties. 
Oseroff's most celebrated works are the following 
tragedies, in verse : 1. The Death of Olga, in five 
acts, first represented at St. Petersburg in 1798. 
2. CEdipus at Athens, in five acts, represented first 
on the 23rd of November, 1804. 3. Fingal q , in 
three acts, with choruses and a pantomimic ballet, 
represented on the 8th of December, 1805, published 
at St. Petersburg, 1807. 4. Dmitrj Donskoj, in five 
acts, represented on the 14th of January, 1807. 5. 
Polixena, in five acts, represented on the 14th of May, 
1809. Besides these, he wrote several lyric poems, 
and translated from Kolardeau some Letters of 
Heloise to Abelard. A complete collection of his 
works, with notices respecting his life and writings, 
written by Prince P. A. Wasemskj, was printed at 
St. Petersburg, in two parts, in 1818. " The merit 
of Oseroff, the reformer of Russian tragedy," says 
his biographer, among other things, " must ever 
fix upon him the gratitude and regard of the en- 
lightened friends of literature. Without determin- 
ing the proportional merit of each, we may compare 
him to Karamsin, the inventor of our modern prose. 
Both of them have left a wide gulf between them- 
selves and their predecessors. With the appear- 

n Joseph Koslofskj, councillor of state, and for a long time musical di- 
rector of the imperial theatre, who had made himself a great favourite of 
the Uussian public 1>\ some 1'olnnaiM's, wliirh he had composed for the 
national songs of Dershawin, wrote the music for Fingal. Kcslofskj died 
.ii St. Petersburg on the I Ith of March, 1831 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 317 

ance of Oseroff, the Russian INIelpomene asserted 
her empire over the soul. We heard her voice, 
which penetrates the heart, and awakes the feelings 
so eloquently described in Racine and Voltaire. 
The laws of Destiny and humanity permitted him 
not to enrich the Russian theatre by perfecting the 
art of tragedy, which in some measure was born and 
expired with him. It is superfluous to attempt to 
prove that neither Knashnin nor SumarokofF were 
his models ; and it would be ridiculous to remark 
that the tragedies which have appeared since his 
time, have no resemblance to his. The best, both 
of the former and the latter, are framed after one 
and the same original ; and can only be consi- 
dered as lifeless copies of the French classical tra- 
gedies. But those of Oseroff belong to a new dra- 
matic school, and approach nearer to what is called 
the romantic form, which the Germans have bor- 
rowed from the Spanish and English writers. Ose- 
roff, as a tragic poet, stands in the annals of litera- 
ture indisputably as the surpasser of all his prede- 
cessors, and as a formidable rival for his successors 
to compete with. As a poet in general, he has 
characteristics which belong exclusively to himself. 
Oseroff the tragedian can, and must, be considered 
the first-rate model of our stage. Oseroff the poet, 
although even as poet he must unquestionably be 
classed also in the foremost rank, cannot and must 
not be regarded as a model. In the beauties of 
his style itself, he is rather happy than obedient to 
rules. In his verses there is not that freedom, that 
flexibility, which lead the reader to forget the la- 
bour of their composition ; and perhaps there are 



318 A LEXICON OF 

too many traces to be found in them of the masters 
from whom he derived his lesson. The hand of 
his childhood is visibly altered by the lapse of years, 
but was unable entirely to refashion itself; and the 
harshness of the language of Knashnin's time is still 
traceable in the poems of OserofT. But neverthe- 
less, what a power of oratory is there, in which the 
heart speaks ! What truth and loyalty in the echoes 
of his sensitive soul ! What a fascination and en- 
chantment in the power of his enthusiastic expres- 
sions ! What a profound lowliness of spirit not en- 
thralled to earth by success! Where are more living 
colours to be found in the descriptive style than in 
his tragedies ? For instance, Dmitrj Donskoj is inter- 
woven with historical recollections, and local allu- 
sions ; but Fingal stands alone, like a Pantheon of 
the poetry of the North, and in Polixena a rich 
variety of material is borrowed from the Iliad. On 
this side of the view, OserofF more especially de- 
mands our applause, because he found no model 
for his imitation among all the Russian writers who 
preceded him. It is not always in the general ar- 
rangement of the whole picture, that we must look 
for evidence of the painter's genius ; oftentimes a 
single touch or stroke, not to be detected by the 
eye of the uninitiated, discloses the secret to the 
penetrating sight of an experienced observer. In- 
dependently of the many prosaic and rough lines 
which are scattered through his tragedies, they are 
on the whole melodious and full; and it may al- 
most be said, that the best Alexdrine verses in the 
Russian language may be found among his works." 
Some of OserofPs tragedies have been very co- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 319 

piously reviewed and criticised by Merslakofr', in 
his Amphion and European Messenger. 

Osinskj, a Pole. Vide article Wasemskj. 

Ossipoff, author of the Mueid Travestied. This 
burlesque poem has much original comic humour. 

Ostolopoff (Nikolaj Fodorowitsch), councillor of 
state and knight, was born in 1782, at Solwiitsche- 
godsk, and entered the Mine Cadet Corps. He 
served during the time that Dershawin and Dmitri- 
jeff were Ministers of Justice, from 1808 to 1812, 
as Governmental-Procurator in Wologda : from 
1814 to 1819 as vice-governor in the same: and 
has since been engaged in the Bureau of Public In- 
struction. He is the author of, 1. Thoughts upon 
Epic Poetry, from Voltaire, St. Petersburg, 1802. 

2. Eugenia, or Modern Education, a tale, 1803. 

3. A Collection of Poems, under the title of Early 
Leisure Hours, St. Petersburg, 1816. 4. The Mad- 
ness of Tasso, translated from the Italian, St. Pe- 
tersburg, first edition, 1809 : second edition, 1819. 
5. A Lexicon of Ancient and Modern Poetry, in 
three volumes, St. Petersburg, 1 82 1 . Besides these, 
he edited the literary journal, The Lover of Lite- 
rature. 

Ostromir. See Grigorj. 

P. 

Palizun. See Abraham. 

Pallas (Peter Simon), acting councillor of state 
and knight, member of numerous learned societies, 
was born at Berlin, in 1 741 ; studied at the University 
of Leyden, and obtained a great reputation at that 



320 A LEXICON OF 

time by his writings on natural history, especially 
botany. In 1768 he received a summons to Rus- 
sia, where he was made an academician. He tra- 
velled through many parts of Russia during six 
years, until 1773 ; and published an account of his 
travels from 1771 to 1776, in the German language. 
His companion in travel and assistant was the ad- 
junct SujefF, who died in 1794, and who also trans- 
lated the account of their travels into Ptussian. 
Pallas was engaged in many useful and important 
works on the subjects of geography, statistics, and 
natural history. He gave great assistance to Ca- 
therine the Great in the compilation of the Com- 
parative Lexicon of all Languages and Dialects. 
In 1787 he was elected Historiographer to the Col- 
lege of the Admiralty ; and in 1796 he retired to 
Sympheropol. In 1810 he travelled to Berlin, at 
which place he died, on the 27th of August, in the 
following year. (In Richter's Russian Miscellany, 
vol. i. No. 3, there is an essay, entitled The Wer- 
ther of the Crimea, extracted from Ismailoff's Tra- 
vels in South-Russia, and which, as we are informed, 
contains an interesting notice of Pallas and his fa- 
mily). 

Pamwa (Beriinda), a hieromonach, held a situa- 
tion under the patriarch of Jerusalem, and was 
architypographer of the Russian church at Kieff. 
He was a native of Moldavia, and came to Kieff in 
the beginning of the seventeenth century, where 
he died in the year 1632. He published (after 
Zissani) The Second Russo-Sclavonic Lexicon, and 
Explanation of Names, together with all the words 
borrowed from the Hebrew, Latin, and other Lao- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 321 

guages, etc. It was published at the Subterranean 
Monastery of KiefF in 1627, in 4to. 

Paxajeff (Wladimir Iwanowitsch), titular coun- 
cillor, member of several learned societies, was born 
in 1792, in the government of Casan; visited the 
Gymnasium of Casan, and studied at the univer- 
sity there. After the conclusion of the prescribed 
course of study, he took the degree of candidate 
in the fine arts. He is at present engaged as se- 
cretary to the commission for clerical schools. He 
wrote : 1. Idyls, St. Petersburg, 1820; almost the 
only poems of this class in the Russian language. 
2. A Panegyric on the Emperor Alexander, Casan, 
1820. 3. Iwan Kostin ; a popular novel, which is 
reprinted in the supplementary sheets of Gretsch's 
periodical, called The Son of the Country. In 
many other journals may be found his smaller 
poems, novels, panegyrics upon the Prince Kutu- 
soff-Smolenskj, on Dershawin and others, etc. 

Peter (Mogila), metropolitan of Kieff, of Galli- 
cia, and all Little Russia ; exarch to the patriarch 
of Constantinople, was born in Moldavia about 1590. 
He received his education at Paris, then served in 
the Polish army ; was made a monk at the KiefF 
lawra or monastery in 1625; was elected archiman- 
drite of that monastery in 1629, and in 1633 ele- 
vated to the rank of a metropolitan. He died in 
1647. This prelate arranged and improved the 
academy of KiefF, established there classes in phi- 
losophy and theology in the Latin and Polish lan- 
guages, obtained from the Polish government per- 
mission to erect a printing-press, invited many 
learned men to the academy, settled upon them 



322 A LEXICON OF 

some sources of revenue which had hitherto be- 
longed to the metropolitans, presented to them his 
library, and earned with justice the gratitude of 
this distinguished seat of education, which con- 
tinues to this day the annual custom of celebrating 
his commemoration by a panegyrical oration. Be- 
sides this, this metropolitan took great pains in 
eradicating the false doctrines which had crept into 
the church of Little Russia from the West, and in 
furnishing the clergy with improved editions of the 
church books. In 1645 and 1646 he had printed 
the Short Catechism, which he had composed in 
the Little Russian and Polish languages, and in- 
tended to publish the Biographies of the Saints 
in the Sclavonic language, but he found himself 
incapacitated from putting his good intention into 
practice. He was the author of a number of verses 
written in the Polish or syllabic metre with rhymes; 
but he has been incorrectly considered to have been 
the first Russian writer in this kind of verse. The 
same was already known in Russia in the sixteenth 
century. 

Petlin (Iwan), a cossack of Siberia, was sent in 
1620 from Tromsk into Siberia, to inform himself 
of the exact boundaries of the Russian empire, 
the course of the river Ob, and other points. Pet- 
lin accomplished his mission, and wrote an account 
of his journey. These travels appeared in print in 
the eleventh number of the Siberian Messenger, St. 
Petersburg, ISIS. 

Petroff (Wassilj Petrowitsch), councillor of state 
and member of the Russian Academy, was born at 
Moscow in 1736, where his father was a clergy- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. . 323 

man. Petroff received his education at the Saiko- 
nospaskish academy, where he made remarkable 
progress in all branches of literature and science, 
but especially in the ancient and modern languages. 
He soon attracted the particular notice of the pa- 
trons and teachers of the place, by the sermons 
which he delivered on Sundays in the church of 
the Saikonospaskish Monastery. In 1763 he wrote 
an ode upon the feast which was held at Moscow 
to celebrate the coronation of Catherine the Se- 
cond. Prince Repnin presented this ode to the 
Empress, who liberally rewarded the author, and 
promised not to forget him. This distinction ac- 
quired him the acquaintance of many of the great 
people, and especially of Prince Potemkin, who con- 
tinued to his death to be his benefactor. In 1769 
he was appointed translator to the cabinet, with 
the rank of titular councillor, and was made reader 
to the Empress. In 1778 he was sent at his own 
request to England, where he had the tact to con- 
ciliate the friendship and regard of some of the 
most distinguished Englishmen. Till 1784 he con- 
tinued his travels in different countries of Europe, 
and after his return to St. Petersburg he found him- 
self appointed librarian to the Empress. Ill health 
compelled him to relinquish all his appointments ; 
and in 1790 he was excused from all public service, 
retiring with the rank of collegiate councillor, and 
the continuation of his salary; upon which he went 
to settle in the Governmental Department of Orel. 
Even there however the Empress did not forget to 
shower her favours upon him ; she promoted him 
to the rank of councillor of state. In his country 

y2 



324 A LEXICON OF 

retreat he occupied himself with poetry, science, 
and agriculture. In the winter of each year he 
went to Moscow, where he regularly visited the 
library of the Saikonospaskish Monastery. At the 
age of sixty he began learning the modern Greek 
language. The news of the death of his patron, 
Potemkin, and his benefactress, Catherine, threw 
him into deep affliction. He died on the 4th of 
December, 1799. PetrofF's works were printed en- 
tire in 1811, in three parts, 8vo. They contain 
festival odes on the victories, treaties, and other 
celebrations of the times of Catherine and Paul ; 
besides epistles to various friends, etc. Besides 
these, he translated Virgil's yEneid, in metre, which 
was published at St. Petersburg, in two parts, 17S1 
and 1786. MerslakofF says of the merits of this 
poet, "PetrofF's odes are extremely beautiful. They 
distinguish themselves from all others by their being 
full of powerful thoughts most briefly expressed. 
PetrofF is a poet-philosopher. Perhaps he might be 
compared with LomonossofF, if his style were more 
polished. He abounds moreover in splendid and 
fiery delineations. LomonossofF is often a simple 
and open flatterer. PetrofF possessed the rare and 
proper art of administering praise. His language 
moreover is not universally rough and uncultivated. 
There are entire odes which are written in flowing 
and melodious verses." 

PetrofF (F.), a living poet at Irkutsch, in Siberia. 
He has translated Goethe's poem, Der Tod ten Tarns, 
or Dance of Death; and written some original pieces. 

Philaret, whose secular name was Wassilj Dros- 
dofF, archbishop of Moscow and Kolomna, archi- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 325 

mandrite of the Sergian Monastery of Troizka, 
knight of many orders, member of the Holy Di- 
recting Synod, of the Commission for Superintend- 
ing Places of Religious Education, of the Upper 
School Directory, of the Russian Academy, and 
several other learned societies ; was born in the 
year 1782, at Kolomna, where his father, Michael 
Fodorowitsch, was protoijerej at the cathedral of 
the Ascension of the Virgin. He studied first at the 
Seminary of Kolomna, and afterwards at that of the 
Sergian Monastery. In the last, where he officiated 
also as a teacher, he attracted, by his remarkable 
talents, the notice of the most reverend metropoli- 
tan, Platon; and in 1806 he was appointed preacher 
at the Sergian Monastery of Troizka. In the year 
1810 he was translated to the Academy of Alex- 
ander Newskj at St. Petersburg, as bachelor of the 
theological science, and in 1811 made archiman- 
drite, and in 1812 rector of that academy. In 1817 
he was made bishop of Reval, and vicar of St. Pe- 
tersburg ; in 1819 archbishop of Twer, and member 
of the Holy Synod ; in 1820 bishop of Jarosslaw ; 
and in 1821 of Moscow. Of his works, which fre- 
quently received the signal approbation of the Em- 
peror himself, and which are in use part in the cle- 
rical and part in the ordinary schools, the follow- 
ing have been published : 1. Conversations between 
a Sceptic and a Believer upon the True Doc- 
trines of the Greek-Russian Church, St. Petersburg, 
1815. 2. A Sketch of Biblical History, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1816 : second edition, 1819. 3. Remarks 
upon the Book of Genesis, St. Petersburg, 1816 
and 1819. 4. An Attempt at an Explanation of 



326 A LEXICON OF 

the Sixty-seventh Psalm, St. Petersburg, 1814. 5. 
Sermons, preached and printed at various times, 
published collectively at St. Petersburg, 1820. 6. 
A Selection from the Four Evangelists and the 
Acts of the Apostles, for the use of the ordinary 
schools ; published by the Upper School Direc- 
tory at St. Petersburg, 1820. A translation of this 
has been published in England. 7. A Selection 
from the Historical Books of the Old Testament ; 
which is submitted to the consideration of the Up- 
per School Directory, but not yet printed. 8. Con- 
siderations on the Moral Causes of the Incredible 
Progress and Advances of Russians in the "War of 
1812. 9. Many Sermons, which have been written 
since the appearance of the former collection, have 
been published at different times at St. Petersburg 
and Moscow. Some of them have been translated 
into foreign languages. 

Photj(us), metropolitan of Kieff and all Russia, 
a Greek by birth, was consecrated to this dignity 
in the year 1410, and afterwards came to Moscow. 
He died in 1431. Of his works, Sixteen Discourses 
for Edification, addressed to the princes and bo- 
jars, and to the entire clerical, secular, and monas- 
tic population, have descended to our time. A 
very perfect manuscript of these discourses is pre- 
served in the Library of St. Sophia at Novogorod. 
Many epistles of Photj are also to be found in the 
Synodal Library at Moscow. 

Piketoff, author of the Pantheon of Russian 
Writers, in which he gives biographical sketches 
of some of the best writers of his country. 

Pissareff (Alexander Alexandrowitsch), a major- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 321 

general, and knight of several Russian and foreign 
orders, member of the Russian Academy, of the 
Society for the Lovers of the Russian Language, 
and numerous other learned bodies, was born at 
St. Petersburg in the year 1782. He received his 
education in the Land Cadet Corps, from which he 
was removed into the army as second-lieutenant in 
1796. In 1797 he was transferred to the SemenofF 
regiment of guards, served in that corps till he at- 
tained the rank of general in 1813, and took part 
in all the important campaigns and battles in which 
the guards and the grenadier-regiment were en- 
gaged. He at present is in command of the gre- 
nadier brigade at Kaluga. Besides his original pro- 
ductions and translations, which have appeared in 
the different periodicals, the following works are 
from his pen : 1. Subjects for Painters, taken from 
the Russian History, from the Sclavonic Theology, 
and from Russian writers in verse and prose, two 
parts, St. Petersburg, 1807. 2. A Sketch of the 
Fine Arts, or Rules for Painting, Sculpture, En- 
graving, and Architecture, with an Appendix con- 
taining various fragments, in relation to the fine 
arts, St. Petersburg, 1819. 3. General Rules for 
the Theatre, selected from the complete collection 
of Voltaire's works, St. Petersburg, 1809. 4. Mi- 
litary Letters and Remarks, relating chiefly to the 
memorable year of 1812, and to its consequences, 
two parts, Moscow, 1817. 

Platon (BefFschin), metropolitan of Moscow, 
archimandrite of the Sergian Monastery of Troizka, 
and knight of numerous orders, was born on the 
29th of June, 1 737, at the estate of Tschaschnikowa. 



328 A LEXICON OF 

near Moscow, where his father was the clergyman. 
Platon studied at the Academy of Moscow, and in 
1757 was appointed there as a teacher. In 1758 
he entered the monastic order, and was nominated 
prefect of the Lawra Seminary, and soon afterwards 
rector of the same. Catherine the Second became 
acquainted with his worth, when at her visit to the 
Lawra he received her with a congratulatory ad- 
dress, and preached a sermon in her presence ; she 
selected him to be religious instructor to the heir 
to the throne, and to be preacher to the court. 
He filled this post for about four years. In 1766 
he was raised to the dignity of archimandrite of the 
Sergian Monastery; in 1768 made a member of the 
Holy Synod, and in 1770 promoted to be arch- 
bishop of Twer. In 1773 he instructed in the Rus- 
sian-Greek religion the Princess of Hesse Darm- 
stadt, Natalia Alexejewna, the first wife of the 
Grand Prince Paul Petrowitsch ; and in 1776 his 
second wife, the late Empress' mother, Maria Feo- 
dorowna. In 1775 he was made archbishop of 
Moscow, was intrusted with the superintendence 
of the Moscow Academy, and in 17S7 was raised 
to the dignity of metropolitan. The Emperor Paul 
the First adorned him with the diamond orders of 
St. Andrew and St. Alexander. In 1801 he crowned 
the Emperor Alexander the First; in 1801) he be- 
came knight of the order of St. Wladimir, first class; 
in 1811 he asked permission to resign his official 
dignities and duties, and lived afterwards at his mo- 
nastery of Bethania, where he had already founded 
an academy as early as 17.07. In 1812, just before 
the invasion of the French, he hastened to Moscow. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 329 

and encouraged the Russians by his eloquent ha- 
rangue to be firm against their foes. He died on 
the 11th of November in the same year, and was 
buried at his favourite monastery. Platon belongs 
to the number of the most voluminous writers, and 
most distinguished preachers. His works are as fol- 
lows : 1 . A vast number of clerical discourses, sermons, 
gratulatory orations, etc. ; which occupy as many 
as sixteen volumes in the collection of his works. 

2. An Admonition to the Rasskolniks, composed 
and printed by desire of the Empress, 1766, which 
is to be found in the sixth volume of his works. 

3. Instructions to the Clerical Inspectors, Moscow, 
1775. 4. A Short Catechism for the Instruction 
of Children. 5. A Short Catechism for the Use of 
Priests and the Servants of the Church. 6. Ortho- 
dox Doctrines, or A Sketch of Christian Theology, 
composed for the use of the Grand Prince Paul Pe- 
trowitsch, St. Petersburg, 1 765. This book has been 
translated into Latin, German, (by Rodde, Leipsic, 
1770), English, French, Greek, Armenian, and 
Georgian. 7. A Catechism, or First Instructions 
in the Christian Religion, the substance of which 
he delivered publicly at the Moscow Academy, 
from 1753 to 1756, 2 vols. 8. The Biography of 
St. Sergius, the Radonischian worker of miracles. 
9. A Short Russian Church History, two parts, 
Moscow, 1805. 10. Memorandums of a Journey 
through the Governments of White and Little Rus- 
sia to Kieff, in the year 1S04. The collected works 
of the worthy Platon were published in twenty vo- 
lumes at Moscow (from 1779 to 1S07), besides 
two later editions. The most venerable Eugenj, 



330 A LEXICON OF 

in his Attempt at a Historical Dictionary of Russian 
Authors of the Clerical Order, says, § 561, of Pla- 
ton, " Of his writings, the following may fairly be 
considered the best : The Sketch of Theology ; 
The Instructions to the Inspectors ; The Exhorta- 
tion to the Rasskolniks ; The Short Catechisms ; 
and many of his sermons and discourses." He 
continues, by quoting Platon's own words relative 
to the plan and principles he followed in the com- 
position of his sermons, and afterwards thus pro- 
ceeds : " It may be here remarked, that in so great 
a number of sermons as were delivered by this ta- 
lented preacher, and from the necessity of treating 
the same subjects over and over again, it is not 
reasonable to expect always the same attention 
to invention, arrangement, and ornament in the 
arguments; and it is difficult to avoid occasional 
repetitions of the same ideas. The most accom- 
plished preachers accordingly have not escaped this 
fault, of whose sermons not many, much less all, 
can be cited as perfect models of eloquence. The 
first sermons of Platon, delivered before the court, 
are remarkable for their sublimity and fulness of 
original thoughts ; the later ones, on the other 
hand, for their rich unction. To cite one parti- 
cular instance, we would wish to call attention to 
the gratulatory discourse which he preached after 
the coronation of Alexander, which will ever re- 
main an undying memorial of his peculiar gifts in 
sublimity and truth of conception, in masterly ar- 
rangement of his subject, and in powerful and yet 
elegant expression." 

Plawilschtschikoff (Peter Alexejewitsch), son 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 331 

of a merchant of Moscow, was born in 1760, stu- 
died at the University of Moscow, and chose when 
twenty years old the profession of an actor at the 
imperial theatre of St. Petersburg. He soon made 
himself known by his talents, and knew how to at- 
tain the favour of the Empress, which she fre- 
quently signified to him by applause and by hand- 
some presents. In 1793 he went to the Moscow 
theatre ; and in 1811 he was elected a member of 
the Moscow Society of the Lovers of Russian Lite- 
rature. He died in October, 1812, in the flight 
from the desolated Moscow. This distinguished 
actor was also a highly-talented author. His works 
are ; tragedies : 1. Rurik, in five acts, in verse. 2. 
Tachmass-Kulii Khan, in five acts. 3. Jermak, 
in five acts, in prose. Comedies, in prose : 1. The 
Brothers SvvojeladofT, in five acts. 2. The Peasant 
without Land, in five acts. 3. The Shopman, in 
four acts. 4. The Miller and the Sbit-seller as Ri- 
vals, in one act. 5. Kutwikin's Betrothal, in one 
act. Dramas : 1. Count Waltron, in five acts; an 
imitation of the German play of the same name. 
2. Lenssa, or The Savages in America, in two acts. 
Besides these, PlawilschtschikofT was the author of 
many lyrical and other poems, as well as some per- 
formances in prose ; among which the answer to a 
question proposed by the Moscow Society of the 
Friends of Russian Literature, " Upon the peculiar 
characteristics of the ancient Greek theatre," de- 
serves especial mention. 

Pleschtschejeff (Sergj Ivvanowitsch), acting- 
privy councillor and knight, was born at Moscow 
in 1752, and educated in England. He served in 



332 A LEXICON OF 

the fleet in the first Turkish war, was afterwards 
removed into the diplomatic service, and was em- 
ployed as secretary by the Emperor Paul the First 
while he was still Grand Prince. In the last years 
of his life he was director of the Foundling-House. 
For the benefit of his health, he travelled into 
southern climates, and died at Montpelier, January, 
1802. He was the author of the first detailed and 
full account of the statistics of Russia, by the title 
of, A Survey of the Russian Empire in its Present 
and Newly-organised Condition, printed at St. Pe- 
tersburg in 1790. This book was translated into 
several foreign languages. In 1773 he published 
A Journal of his Travels from the Island of Paros 
to Syria, which he completed about the end of the 
year 1772. 

Pletneff, author of the work, General Charac- 
teristics of the Russian Poets, has trodden in the 
footsteps of MerslakofF. Among his poems is the 
elegy Miinnich, which, is considered his best pro- 
duction. 

Pnin (Iwan Petrowitsch), collegiate councillor, 
member and president of the St. Petersburg Society 
of the Lovers of Literature, Sciences, and Arts, 
was born in 1773, and educated in the school for 
young nobles attached to the Moscow University, 
and in the Engineer Cadet Corps. At first he 
entered the artillery, but in 1 7J>7 removed into the 
civil service; in 1803 he was appointed an assist- 
ant in the newly-instituted department of Public 
Instruction; and in 1805 lie retired from service. 
lie died on the 17th of September, ISO."). In the 
year 1798 he was editor of the St. Petersburg 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 333 

Journal, four parts. His labours in prose and 
verse are to be found in various periodicals, and 
the most remarkable of his poems is The Ode to 
Justice. He was also the author of several books: 
1. An Essay on the Spread of Enlightenment, con- 
sidered with regard to Russia. 2. The Complaint 
of Innocence oppressed by the Laws. 3. On the 
Arousing of Patriotism. And 4. The first act of 
a drama, called Belisarius. Which works however 
have not yet been printed. 

Podobadoff. See Amwrossj. 

Podschiwaloff (Wassilj Sergejewitsch), coun- 
cillor of state and knight, was born at Moscow, on 
the 2nd of March, 1765. His father was a dismissed 
soldier. The young Podschiwaloff, after he had 
received some lessons in reading from a djatschok 
or minister of the church, was placed in the Uni- 
versity Gymnasium; in 1782 he was made a stu- 
dent, and shortly afterwards appointed a teacher 
in the Russian language and logic. In 1785 he re- 
ceived an appointment in the Moscow archives of 
the College of Foreign Affairs, and was engaged 
there until 1795. At that period he became cen- 
sor and assistant to the Upper Inspector of the 
Moscow Foundling-House. In 1800 he went, with 
the rank of imperial councillor to act as director 
of the Trade-School, which was newly removed to 
St. Petersburg. In 1810, being allowed to give up 
this place with a retiring pension, he was appointed 
President of the Civil Court in Wladimir, where 
he died, on the 31st of July, 1813. Podschiwaloff 
occupied himself from his youth up with literature, 
particularly in the Meeting, or Union of the Pupils 



3Si< A LEXICON OF 

of the University, which issued many periodical pub- 
lications, as 1. The Twilight. 2. The Industrious 
Man. 3. Lectures on Taste, Intelligence, and Feel- 
ing. From the year 1 794 he himself edited the jour- 
nal called Agreeable and Useful Pastime. Afterwards 
his necessary business prevented him from engaging 
much in literature. Nevertheless, in later years he 
began, 1. To write his autobiography, under the title 
For My Children, which is reprinted in Gretsch's 
Manual of Literature, vol. ii. p. 12. 2. He com- 
posed A Treatise on the Russian Alphabet, printed 
in the fifth part of the publications of the Moscow 
Society for the Lovers of Russian Literature. And 
3. A Description of all the several kinds of Poetry, 
etc. After his death a number of minor poems 
were discovered among his papers. Of his transla- 
tions, the following are known : 1. A Short Psych- 
ology, or Doctrine of the Human Soul, from Campe, 
Moscow, 1789. 2. The Book of Wisdom and Vir- 
tue, or The Condition of Human Life, Moscow, 
1794. 3. Bianca Capello, from Meissner, Moscow, 
1793. 4. Meissner's Novels, three parts, Moscow, 
1803. Podschiwaloff does not so much merit the 
grateful acknowledgments of posterity on account 
of any classical works of his composition, as by his 
zealous and felicitous cultivation of the public taste, 
and the fineness of style which he adopted in his 
department of Russian literature. In his time he 
was considered, and with justice, the best trans- 
lator. His original compositions, inserted in the 
journals which he himself edited, are distinguished 
by acuteness of thought, refinement of feeling, and 
a regularity and agreeable elegance of style. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 335 

Polikarp. See Simon. 

Polikarfoff (Feodor), corrector of the clerical 
press in Moscow, was author of a Sclavonic-Greek 
and Latin Lexicon, which was printed at Moscow 
in 1704 ; and in 1721 a Sclavonic Grammar also 
appeared in his name, which he derived principally 
from the works of Smotrizkj. 

Polozkj. See Symeon. 

Popoff (Michael), editor of the Russian Errata, 
in three parts, Svo. St. Petersburg, 1792. This 
work is one of the best collections of Russian songs. 
See article Rumanzoff; and article L'woff. 

Popofskj (Nikolaj Nikititsch), was bom in the 
year 1730. The exact particulars of his education 
are not known. The first remarkable circumstance 
of which we are aware respecting him, is, that Lo- 
monossoff, struck by his translation of Pope's Es- 
say on Man, requested J. J. SchuwalofF to extend 
his protection towards him. Popofskj was soon 
afterwards, on the 2nd of May, 1756, elected a pro- 
fessor at the University of Moscow, where he was 
the first professor who began to deliver lectures on 
philosophy. He w 7 as also the first rector of the 
University Gymnasium, and the first editor of the 
Moscow newspaper. He died however as early as 
the year 1760. Besides the above-mentioned Essay 
on Man, of which three editions have appeared, viz. 
that of 1757, 1787, and 1802, he translated, 1. The 
Epistle to the Pisos, and some of the Odes of Ho- 
race. 2. Locke's work upon Education, two parts, 
1759 and 1788. He wrote also two orations: 1. 
On the Uses and Importance of Philosophy; which 
he delivered at the opening of the philosophical 



336 A LEXICON OF 

lectures in the university. 2. A Celebration Dis- 
course, on the day of the coronation of the Em- 
press Elizabeth, 1759; in which oration he displays 
his clear intelligence, fine taste, and the art, so 
uncommon at that early period, of writing in pure 
and correct prose. Before his death he burnt his 
uncompleted translations of Titus Livius, of Ana- 
creon, and others, because he judged them unworthy 
of being handed down to posterity. Upon the 
whole it must be said, that Popofskj deserves re- 
membrance less on account of what he actually ac- 
complished, than of what he might have accom- 
plished, had not a premature death deprived us of 
his talents. 

Prokopowitsch. See Feofan. 

Protassoff. See Amwrossj. 

Puchmayer (Anton Jarosslaff), catholic clergy- 
man at Radniz in Bohemia, published in 1820 A 
Manual of the Russian Language, in imitation of 
the Abbe Dobrowsky's Instructions for the Bohe- 
mian Language, at the expense of the Bohemian 
National Museum at Prague, in large 8vo. And the 
learned abbot Joseph Dobrowsky, to whom Scla- 
vonic literature is so much indebted, accompanied 
this work with a preface. 

Puschkin (Alexander Ssergejewitsch), collegiatr 
secretary, was born on the 26th of May, 1791), at 
St. Petersburg, and brought up at the Imperial 
Lyceum, from which he removed in 1817, and was 
placed in the College for the Administration of Fo- 
reign Affairs. In the year 1820 he entered the 
chancery of the lieutenant-general Insoff, governor 
of Bessarabia. Puschkin is the author of several 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 337 

lyric poems, but his most remarkable poetical work 
is the romantic poem called Russian and Ludmila, 
which was printed at St. Petersburg in 1820. In 
this poem, consisting of six cantos, which paints 
the heroic age of Russia at Kieff, an unwonted 
poetical spirit, fancy, and taste are displayed, which 
promise under favourable circumstances to be pro- 
ductive of the richest fruits. A later poem of his 
is the Prisoner of the Caucasus. In 1824 this was 
published, together with a German translation, at 
St. Petersburg. Another translation, published at 
the same place in 1826, bears the title of The Berg- 
gefangene, or The Mountain Prisoner, translated 
from the Russian by A. Wulffert. In this poem is 
introduced a Tscherkessian song, which the au- 
thor of the present Lexicon inserted in the New 
Breslaw Newspaper for the 17th of September, 
1825. The last production of his muse, which in 
point of internal merit far surpasses all his earlier 
works, bears the title of The Well of Baktschissa- 
rai, a poem of 600 lines long, for which a book- 
seller at Moscow has paid him the liberal sum 
of 3000 roubles. The contents of this poem are to 
be found accurately described and discussed in Nos. 
231—240 of the Newspaper for the Polite World 
(Zeitungfiir die Elegante Welt) for the year 1825. 
Puschkin died at St. Petersburg, on the 1 0th of Fe- 
bruary, 1837, of a shot-wound in the breast re- 
ceived in a duel, from his brother-in-law, D'Authes, 
Baron von Heckeren, the adopted son of the Dutch 
ambassador at St. Petersburg. The duel was oc- 
casioned by family broils, and by the imputed infi- 

z 



338 A LEXICON OF 

delity of the wife of one of the parties with the 
other. Puschkin found himself placed in such a 
situation, that to redeem his honour he considered 
himself bound to challenge von Heckeren. Alex- 
ander BestuschefF says of this admired Russian 
poet, " While yet a child he surprised by the 
manly vigour of his style ; the mines of his mother 
tongue laid themselves open to the rising youth, 
and poured forth to him the magic stores of poetry. 
Each of his works bears the stamp of originality ; 
each one leaves an impression on the memory or the 
feeling of the reader. Puschkin's thoughts are full 
of acuteness, bold and fiery ; his language is clear 
and well-regulated, the tones of his verses are very 
music. They flow like pearls over velvet, to avail 
myself of a genuine Russian simile. Two of the 
poems of this young bard, Russian and Ludmila, 
and the Prisoner of Caucasus, are especially full of 
maiden charms. The last, composed on the green 
hillock of Ovid's tomb, within sight of the silver- 
hoary Caucasus, glitters with the richest store of 
fancy, and with the peculiar beauties of the local 
splendours of the natural scene. Inequality in the 
plan, and the drawing of some of the characters, 
are his principal faults, which he possesses in com- 
mon with all poets, who have equalled him in lire, 
and been carried away by their imagination." An- 
other publication in which he took the principal 
share, was The Insurrection of the Poles and the 
Fall of Warsaw, in three cantos, by Alexander 
Puschkin, W. Schukofskj, and Chonvjakoff, St. Pe- 
tersburg. One of the cantos of this trilogy is su- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 339 

perscribed To Russia's Defamers. At the same 
time his historical tragedy, which is by some con- 
sidered his masterpiece, was published. 

Puschkin (Wassilj L'wowitsch), collegiate asses- 
sor, member of several learned societies, was born 
at Moscow on the 17th of April, 1770, and edu- 
cated in his parents' house. He served as lieutenant 
in the IsmailofF regiment of guards. In 1797 he 
retired from the service, and went to live at Moscow. 
From this time forth literature and science were 
his only occupation and amusement. In 1801 he 
travelled abroad ; and on his return applied him- 
self again with redoubled assiduity to his former 
pursuits. His acquaintance with Dershawin, Dmi- 
trijeff, and Karamsin, sustained his love of litera- 
ture. His first work, An Epistle at the Fireside, 
was printed in the St. Petersburg Mercury in 1793. 
At Paris he became acquainted with the first French 
writers of the day, as Sicard, De Lille, St. Pierre, 
Legouvier, Michaud, and others ; and as he wished 
to make them acquainted with the ancient Prussian 
literature, he translated several old Russian songs 
into French, which were printed in the French 
Mercury, and received with general applause. In 
London he occupied himself with the English lan- 
guage, and translated some considerable specimens 
of Thomson's Seasons. Puschkin wrote a number 
of lyrical and didactic poems, chiefly fables and 
epistles, which are distinguished by their lightness, 
regularity, and agreeableness of style, and by their 
sublimity of thought and feeling. He was sub- 
sequently engaged in making a collection of his 
works. 

z2 



340 A LEXICON OF 



R. 



Raitsch (A.), translator of Virgil's Georgics, 1S1 
pages, Moscow, 1821 ; and of Tasso's Jerusalem 
Delivered ; of which last a specimen is printed in 
the Son of the Country, the periodical edited by 
Gretsch. 

Remesoff (Semen), an inhabitant of Tobolsk, 
composed a Short Siberian and Kungurian Liito- 
piss, or Chronicle, with designs, which extends to 
the year 1649. This book, which Miiller used in 
the composition of his History of Siberia, is filled 
up with a number of Mahrchen, or old traditional 
tales. A manuscript copy of it is preserved in the 
Library of the Academy of Sciences. 

Richter (Wilhelm Michailowitsch), emeritus pro- 
fessor at the University of Moscow, physician in or- 
nary and president of the Moscow Society for Me- 
dical and Physical Science, acting councillor of state, 
and knight, was born at Moscow, November 28th, 
1767. He was educated at the Gymnasium at 
Reval, and at the University of Moscow. After- 
wards he travelled in foreign countries to perfect 
himself in the practice and theory of medicine. 
From 1790 he was engaged in the service of the 
university. He wrote in the German and Russian 
languages, A History of the Medical Science in 
Russia, three parts, printed at Moscow, from 1 81 I 
to 1820. Resides this, many works of his on phy- 
sical and medical subjects have been published in 
various languages. 

Rilejeff, born in 1795, is the author of the His- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 341 

torical Hymns, in which the great actions of the 
ancestors of his fellow-countrymen are celebrated. 

Rodde (Jacob), a German, secretary and trans- 
lator to a high official councillor in the imperial 
town of Riga, wrote, 1. A Russian Grammar, 1773, 
first edition: 1784, second edition: 1789, third edi- 
tion ; together with Tales for Translating, and Dia- 
logues. 2. A Russo-German and German-Russian 
Dictionary, Riga, 1784. 

Rosonoff, Foma (Thomas), collegiate councillor, 
wrote Sketches of Sclavonic Etymology, large 8vo. 
120 pages, Moscow, 1810. 

Rottscheff, the translator of the Bride of Mes- 
sina, and the William Tell, of Schiller. These 
translations are not thought particularly good. His 
prose translation of The Robbers, published in 
1829, is far better. Rottscheff nevertheless does 
not want poetical talents. 

Rtischtscheff. See Epiphanj. 

Ruban (Wassilj Grigorjewitsch), collegiate coun- 
cillor and knight, member of the Free Economical 
Society, director of the schools of Jekaterinosslaw, 
was born in Little Russia in 1739. He was edu- 
cated, first at the Academy of Kieff, afterwards at 
the University of Moscow, and in 1776 he made 
himself known in the field of literature. He pub- 
lished: 1. A Collection of Inscriptions, 1771. 2. The 
weekly papers: Neither This nor That, 1769; The 
Industrious Ant ; Ancient and Modern, 1771-1773. 
3. A Short Account of Little Russia, St. Peters- 
burg, 1773. 4. The New Calendar, St. Peters- 
burg and Moscow, for the years 1775, 1776, 1778, 
and 1780, with a quantity of historical and statis- 



342 A LEXICON OF 

tical information. 5. A Geographical Account of 
Little Russia, etc. St. Petersburg, 1777. 6. The 
Universal Courier and Route-book, or complete 
Traveller's Companion, in three parts, St. Peters- 
burg, 1778; second edition, 1791; third edition, 
1793. 7. Easter Canons, composed in metre, St. 
Petersburg, 1779. 8. The Memorial of the Princes 
of Russia, or A Historical Lexicon of the Rus- 
sian Rulers, Male and Female, from the earliest 
times, for whom Masses for the dead are cele- 
brated in the Russian Churches, St. Petersburg, 
1780. 9. A Description of the Capital Town of 
Moscow, St. Petersburg, 1782. Besides these, he 
printed a number of translations, and assisted in 
the publication of several foreign works. He died 
at St. Petersburg in 1795. Of his original com- 
positions little will descend to posterity but the 
inscription which he wrote for the monument of 
Peter the Great, and which is printed in the third 
part of Gretsch's Manual of Russian Literature, 
p. 260. 

Rumanzoff (Count Nikolai Petrowitsch), chan- 
chellor of the empire, after he had given up all 
official employments, directed his noble efforts to 
the enrichment of Russian history, and devoted 
his great riches to this purpose. Under his di- 
rection, and at his expense, were printed : 1. The 
Collection of the Public Records of the Empire ; 
compare article Malinofskj. 2. The Statutes of 
the Grand Prince John AVassiljewitsch ; compare 
the same. 3. The Works of the late Acade- 
mician Lehrberg, (who was born 1770 and died 
1813,) in a Russian translation prepared by J as- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 343 

tiikoff. 4. Ewer's works : Inquiries on the Sub- 
ject of Russian History. 5. Herberstein's Bio- 
graphy, and The Merits of Catherine the Second, 
written by Adelung. 6. A Lexicon of Russian 
Writers of the Clerical Profession, by Bishop Eu- 
genj ; compare article Eugenj. 7. Ancient Rus- 
sian History; compare article Malinofskj. 8. The 
History of LefF (Leo), Deacon of Kalish, published 
by Herr Hase from the manuscript in the Royal 
Library at Paris, 1819, and translated into Russian 
by Popoff, St. Petersburg, 1820 ; and a number of 
other works. In 1813 he expended the sum of 
25,000 roubles on the production of the best edi- 
tion of Nestor. Learned men were employed in 
many of the deposits of the archives in Russia and 
other countries, at the expense of this patriotic no- 
bleman, to search out materials and to copy manu- 
scripts connected with Russian history. In Paris 
this duty was undertaken by Herr Hase and M. St. 
Martin ; the first made extracts from the Byzan- 
tine historians, the other from the oriental authors. 
Count RumanzofF, who has raised for himself an 
imperishable monument in the Pantheon of Rus- 
sian history, died in 1826. 

Rumofskj (Stephan Jakowlewitsch), acting coun- 
cillor of state and knight, was born on the 29th of 
October, 1734, of indigent parents, in the govern- 
ment of Wladimir. He entered the Gymnasium of 
the Academy as student, and after he had become 
adjunct he went, for the sake of perfecting his stu- 
dies in mathematics, to read under Leonhard Eu- 
ler, at Berlin, from 1754 to 1756, and in compli- 
ance with a ukase of the directing senate, he un- 



344 A LEXICON OF 

dertook a journey to Selenginsk, to take observa- 
tions on the transit of Venus over the sun's disk. 
In 1763 he found himself advanced to be ordinary 
professor of astronomy, and in 1769 the Academy 
of Sciences sent him, at the express command of 
the Empress, to Kola, to observe another transit of 
Venus. Afterwards, from 1775 to 1782, he was 
appointed inspector in the office for the superin- 
tendence of Foreign Religious Sects in Russia. In 
1800 he was vice-president of the St. Petersburg 
Academy of Sciences ; and in 1803 member of the 
Upper School Directory and Curator of the Uni- 
versity of Casan. He died in 1812. Rumofskj 
was the first man who wrote a mathematical in- 
struction book in the Russian language, which was 
published in 1760, and by its clearness obtained for 
its author the surname of the Russian Wolf. Be- 
sides this, he translated : 1. Letters on various Phi- 
losophical and Physical Matters, from Leonhard 
Euler, three parts. 2. The Annals of Cornelius 
Tacitus, four volumes, St. Petersburg, 1808. Many 
of his mathematical and astronomical inquires are 
deposited among the records of the Academy of Sci- 
ences at St. Petersburg. 

PtiJLo. See Wassian. 

Rutschkoff (Nikolaj Petrowitsch), a captain ; 
travelled from 1768 to 1771, and published a Jour- 
nal of his Travels, in three volumes, at St. Peters- 
burg, from 1 769 to 1772. Specimens of this in the 
Russian language are to be found in Rodde's Rus- 
sian Instruction Book ; as for instance, from his 
Topography of Orenburg, his History of Casan, etc. 
lie died in 1780. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 345 

S. 

Sablofskj (Eudokin Felippowitsch),c?wm^MS pro- 
fessor at the University of St. Petersburg, coun- 
cillor of state and knight, was born on the 31st of 
July, 1763, in the government of Orel. He received 
his education at the Gymnasium for Teachers at 
St. Petersburg. After finishing his studies he was 
appointed a teacher; and in 1797 he undertook 
the office of professor of history and geography at 
the Gymnasium for Teachers at St. Petersburg. 
When this Gymnasium in 1S05 became the Pe- 
dagogical Institute, and in 1819 the University, 
Sablofskj ascended the chair of geography, and 
at the same time of history and statistics. In 
1805 he was professor extraordinary, in 1809 ordi- 
nary professor, and in 1818 he was emeritus (i. e. had 
served a sufficient time to obtain leave to retire 
with a pension). He published, among other works, 
the following : 1. The Most Recent Geography 
of the Russian Empire, two parts, St. Peters- 
burg, 1807. 2. A Statistical Account of Russia, 
five parts, St. Petersburg, 1808 : second edition, 
1815. 3. A Geographical Account of the Rus- 
sian Empire, adapted for the Reading of all Classes, 
six volumes, St. Petersburg, 1810. 4. A Course of 
Universal History, three parts, St. Petersburg, 181 1, 
1812. 5. A Course of Universal Geography, ac- 
cording to the present Divisions of Territory, four 
volumes, St. Petersburg, 1 8 1 8, 1 8 1 9. Besides these, 
he wrote, by the request of the Upper School Di- 
rectory, An Introduction to General and Russian 
Geography, for the gymnasiums and district schools, 



346 A LEXICON OF 

which was printed at St. Petersburg, 1820 and 
1821. 

Sacharj. See Zacharias. 

Sagoskin (M.), author of the comedy called The 
Village Philosopher, which contains some laughable 
sketches of Russian village grandees ; and of the 
romances : 1. Jurj Miloslafskj, or The Russians in 
the Year 1612, a historical romance in three vols. 
8vo. Moscow, 1829, which was translated into Ger- 
man by Erh. Goring, two vols. 8vo. Konigsberg, 
1830. Of the original, three editions have already 
been called for. 2. Rostlawleff, or The Russians 
in the Year 1812, translated into German by the 
same hand, Leipsic, 1822, two vols. 8vo. 

Samblak. See Grigorj. 

Sanin. See Joseph. 

Satschenoff. See Dimitrj. 

Schachofskoj (Prince Alexander Alexandro- 
witsch), privy councillor of state, member of the 
Russian Academy, and other learned societies, was 
born on the 21st of April, 1777, in the govern- 
mental department of Smolensk. When seven 
years old he entered the school attached to the 
University of Moscow; and in 1793 he was placed 
in the Preobrashenskish regiment of the guards as 
sergeant, where he advanced to the rank of cap- 
tain. In December, 1801, he received the title of 
Hofrath, or imperial councillor, and was made a 
member of the directory of the theatre. In 1803, 
when he returned from a tour abroad, in which he 
had concluded engagements with several first-rate 
foreign artists for the St. Petersburg theatre, he found 
himself promoted to be a chamberlain, and in 1810 






RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 347 

privy councillor of state. In 1812 he entered the 
Twer militia, and commanded a polk of cossacks ; 
and in October of the same year he marched with 
the division of adjutant-general Winzingerode to 
Moscow. In 1 SI 3 he was appointed general, to 
command the corps then in occupation of Cour- 
land and Livonia, and intrusted with the perform- 
ance of some difficult and important services. After 
the conclusion of the war, he resumed the direc- 
tion of the theatre, and continued a member of the 
directory until 1818, when he retired with a pen- 
sion. Of the numerous dramatic works of Scha- 
chofskoj, we will name the following. Tragedies in 
verse : 1. The Chinese Orphan, in five acts, from 
Voltaire, 1809. 2. Deborah, in five acts, 1810. 3. 
Abufar, in three acts, from the French, 1815. 4. 
The Horatii, in five acts, from Corneille, in con- 
junction with Katenin, Shandr, and Tschepegoff, 
1817. Comedies in verse: 1. Woman's Jest, in 
one act, 1795. 2. The Bath of Lipezk, in five 
acts, 1813. 3. The Family Circle, in three acts; 
two acts of this were written by GribojedofF and 
Chmelnizkj, 1818. 4. If you don't like it, don't 
listen, in one act, 1818. 5. Disorderly House- 
keeping, in five acts, 1819. 6. The Cockatoo, in 
one act, 1820. In prose : 1. The Cunning Man, 
in five acts, 1804. 2. The New Sterne, in one act, 
1S05. 3. Half-Gentlemanly Manners, in five acts, 
1808. 4. The Dispute, or The Two Neighbours, 
in five acts, 1810, etc. Operas: 1. Love's Post- 
Office, in two acts, 1806. 2. The Woman-hater, 
1S0G. 3. Crispin in the Seraglio, in one act, from 
the French, 1812. 4. Iwan Susanin, in two acts, 



348 A LEXICON OF 

1815. 5. Animal Magnetism, in one act, 1818, etc. 
Vaudevilles : 1. The Peasants, or The Reception 
of the Unbidden Guest, in two acts, 1814. 2. Lo- 
monossoff, in three acts, 1814. 3. Modern Bed- 
lam, in one act, from the French, 1818. 4. The 
Two Schoolmasters, in one act, from the French, 
1819. 5. The Advocate, in two acts, from Mo- 
liere, 1820. 6. The Soothsayer, in one act, 1820. 
7. The Night- Wanderer, in three acts, from the 
French, 1821. 8. The Bachelor of Salamanca, in 
one act, from the French, 1821. 9. The Phoenix, 
in one act, from the French, 1821, etc. The ro- 
mantic comedies : Iwanoj, in five acts, 1821, and 
The Tempest, from Shakspeare, 1 821 . The follow- 
ing have not yet been represented : 1 . The Aunt, 
or Not so stupid after all, a comedy, in one act, in 
verse. 2. The Mysterious Dwarf, a romantic co- 
medy, in five acts, taken from Walter Scott. 3. 
Aristophanes, a comedy, in three acts, in verse, 
etc. Besides these dramatic works, Prince Scha- 
chofskoj has written other things, as, 1. The Stolen 
Skins, a comic poem, in four cantos, which was 
publicly read before the Society of the Friends of 
the Russian Language, and printed in the Trans- 
actions of the same. 2. Two Satires, and several 
smaller poems, printed in the Dramatic Intelli- 
gencer, 1808. 3. Letters from Italy to N. M. C, 
printed in the Son of the Country, for the year 
1808. Prince Schachofskoj occupies decidedly the 
first place in the number of living dramatic writers 
in Russia ; and he has not only enriched the thea- 
tre by the contribution of so many excellent pieces, 
but has done much for the promotion of dramatic 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 349 

art by the education of young actors and actresses 
for the St. Petersburg stage. Of his works, his 
smaller comedies (The Dispute, or the Two Neigh- 
bours: Half-Gentlemanly Manners: The Cockatoo: 
and The Family Circle) and his vaudevilles, are 
usually considered the best. 

Schachofskoj (Prince Semen), lived at the be- 
ginning of the seventeenth century ; fell into dis- 
grace with the Czar Michael Feodorowitsch, and 
was banished to the Monastery of Miracles at 
Tschudow. There he wrote several epistles, viz. 1. 
To a Friend, upon Adversity, and also respecting 
certain usages in the church, and moral subjects. 
2. To the Patriarch and Archbishop of Siberia upon 
Divorces. 3. An Epistle to the Most High and 
Mighty Schah Abbass, King of Persia and Media, 
in the name of the supreme Archbishop and Ser- 
vant of God, the most holy Patriarch Philaret 
Nikititsch, of Moscow, and all Russia, respecting 
The Orthodox Faith. In this epistle he thanks 
the Schah for a piece of Rifii, which he had sent 
as a present to the Czar Michael Feodorowitsch, 
and advises him to be baptized. The writings of 
Prince Semen Schachofskoj are to be found in MS. 
in the Synodal Library. 

Schalikoff (Prince Peter Iwanowitsch), has pub- 
lished the following works : 1. The Fruits of In- 
voluntary Feelings, three parts, Moscow, 1798- 

1801. 2. Travels in Little Russia, two parts, Mos- 
cow, 1803. 3. Flowers of the Graces, Moscow, 

1802. 4. A New Journey through Little Rus- 
sia, Moscow, 1804. 5. Thoughts, Characters, and 
Portraits, Moscow, 1805. 6. Historical Account 



350 A LEXICON OF 

of the Stay of the French in Moscow, Moscow, 
1813. 7. Stories, 1819. 8. Epistles, in verse, 
Moscow, 1816. 9. A Journey to Cronstadt, in the 
year 1805, Moscow, 1817. 10. The Works of 
Prince SchalikofF, collected from the journals in 
which they originally appeared, two parts, Moscow, 

1816. This author has translated some of the 
works of Chateaubriand : as, 1. A Journey to Je- 
rusalem, three parts, Moscow, 1815-1816. 2. Re- 
collections of Italy, England, and America; and 
of Madame de Genlis : as 1. The Duchess de la 
Valiere, three parts, 1815, 1816. 2. The His- 
tory of Henry the Great, three parts, Moscow, 
1817 ; and 3. Modern Tales, two parts, Moscow, 
1818. In the year 1806 he published in the Mos- 
cow Journal, The Moscow Spectator, and from 
1808 to 1812 his Aglaia. SchalikofFs works and 
translations deserve, in point of lightness, regu- 
larity, and pleasantness of style, especial attention 
and regard. He endeavoured openly to form his 
language upon the newest models of the Russian 
literature, and contributed not a little in so doing 
to explode the harsh Sclavonicisms which still con- 
tinued to prevail in Russian books. 

Schandr, a modern writer, principally in the dra- 
matic line ; he wrote a considerable part of the 
translation of the play of The Horatii of Corneille 
into Russian verse, in which Prince Schachofskoj 
also took part. It was represented in the year 

1817. He is the author besides of several original 
works. 

Schatroff (Nikolaj Michailowitsch), collegiate 
councillor, was born at Moscow in 1765, where he 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 351 

still continues to live. He began first to write 
poetry in the year 1790. His first work was a 
Song to Catherine the Second, which was printed 
in the Northern Messenger of 1S05. His other 
poems, chiefly of the lyrical class, have appeared 
from time to time in the Russian Messenger. 

Schichmatoff (Prince Sergj Alexandrowitsch), 
lieutenant-captain of the navy, member of the Rus- 
sian Academy, and of the Society of Lovers of the 
Russian Language, was brought up in the Naval 
Cadet Corps, where he still continues in service. 
His poetical performances, amongst others, are, 1. 
An Essay on Criticism, a poem in three cantos, 
from the English of Pope, St. Petersburg, 1806. 

2. Posharskj, Minin, and Hermogenes, or The De- 
liverance of Russia, a poem, St. Petersburg, 1807. 

3. Satires, an imitation of the Eight Satires of Boi- 
leau, St. Petersburg, 1807. 4. A Song addressed 
to the Russian Language, St. Petersburg, 1809. 
5. Peter the Great, a poem in eight cantos, St. 
Petersburg, 1810. 6. The Return to his Native 
Country of a beloved brother Prince, P. A., from a 
Sea expedition of five years' duration, St. Petersburg, 
1810. 7. A Song to the Creator of the Universe, 
St. Petersburg, 1817. 8. A Version of the Hymns 
which are sung in the Churches of the Orthodox 
Faith in honour of the Divine Being, St. Petersburg, 
1821. Many poems of Prince Schichmatoff are to 
be found in the publications of the Russian Aca- 
demy, and in the printed transactions of the Society 
of the Lovers of the Russian Language. 

Sciiidata. See Lukas. 

Schischkoff (Alexander Scmenowitsch), admiral, 



352 A LEXICON OF 

and minister of Public Instruction, and general di- 
rector of Ecclesiastical Affairs for all foreign pro- 
fessions of faith tolerated in Russia, president of 
the Russian Academy, knight of several orders, was 
born in 1754, and educated from the year 1761 in 
the Naval Cadet Corps. After that time he tra- 
velled a great deal as an officer of the navy, both 
by sea and land — to Sweden, Denmark, England, 
Germany, Prussia, Italy, Turkey, etc. In 1812 he 
was made secretary of state : in 1816 president of 
the Russian Academy ; and in 1820 member of the 
Imperial Council. While still a cadet he began 
already to occupy himself with literature and poetry. 
His first labours were : Translations from Kampe's 
Library for Children, (which were several times re- 
printed, and of which a new edition was published 
at St. Petersburg in 1808, in two parts, entitled 
Histories for Children), and Gessner's Daphnis ; 
several little poems, and the drama Slavery ; which 
last was first represented at the imperial theatre, 
and afterwards at the public theatre, in presence 
of the heir to the throne (the late Emperor Paul 
the First), for the benefit of the prisoners confined 
in the jails, and which brought in no less a sum 
for that purpose than 15,000 roubles. In later 
times he devoted himself exclusively to the sea-ser- 
vice, and translated and composed several books 
connected with his favourite and professional sub- 
ject, as, 1. Naval Science, two parts, St. Peters- 
burg, 1793. 2. A Marine Lexicon, in the Eng- 
lish, French, and Russian Languages, two parts, 
St. Petersburg, 1795. 3. A Collection of Jour- 
nals during Voyages at Sea, two parts, St. Pc- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 353 

tersburg, 1800. 4. Historical Records of the Navy, 
a work extending from the earliest establishment 
of the navy. Besides these, he occupied much 
time and labour in preparing a complete Marine 
Lexicon, which should contain the meanings of all 
words of which the diversified and peculiar lan- 
guage of ship-building and navigation consists, in 
respect to all the arts and sciences which they com- 
prise. But this work, which has never been com- 
pleted, remains only in manuscript. After twenty 
years' exclusive labour on subjects connected with 
the navy, he once more came back to his original 
literary pursuits. As at the end of the last century 
a passion sprung up among the young Russian 
literateurs, of imitating the French idioms in the 
Sclavonic language, and thereby corrupting greatly 
the purity of the real Russian, he resolved for this 
reason to publish his Considerations on the Old 
and New Styles of the Russian Language, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1802 : second edition, 1813 : third edition, 
1818. In this book he shows how prejudicial and 
unseemly certain innovations of the young Russian 
authors must be, inasmuch as they were grounded 
upon the imitation of one eminent Russian writer 
only, on his weaker side. This work, in spite of 
some exaggerations, and errors in judgment, arising 
from the author being too much carried away by 
his zeal in the cause, exercised a most wholesome 
influence on Russian literature in general. The 
following may be considered as supplementary to 
the above-mentioned work : 1. Additional Remarks 
upon the Considerations on the Old and New 
Styles of the Russian Language, St. Petersburg, 

a a 



354 A LEXICON OF 

1804; which contains also A Reply to some cri- 
ticisms which had appeared upon the former work. 
2. Translations of two Essays of La Harpe, with 
Observations upon their contents, St. Petersburg, 
1808. These translations gave occasion to a warm 
party-quarrel on the Russian Parnassus. In Nos. 
XI. and XII. of The Flower-Bed for the year 1810, 
appeared a severe criticism upon these essays. The 
author replied to the reviewer in the fourth part of 
the Transactions and Translations of the Russian 
Academy ; and the reviewer soon afterwards an- 
swered again by the publication of a little book 
intitled, On the Easiest Way of Replying to a 
Criticism, St. Petersburg, 1811, which may be cited 
here as at once the strongest and most acute po- 
lemical work which has yet been written in the 
Russian language. 3. Dialogues upon Literature, 
St. Petersburg, 1811. 4. Supplement to the Dia- 
logues on Literature, St. Petersburg, 1811. In the 
year 1812, at the commencement of the French 
war, Schishkoff was invested with the rank of se- 
cretary of state, and as he accompanied the Em- 
peror Alexander in the memorable campaigns that 
followed, he wrote a number of manifestoes, orders, 
ukases, rescripts, etc., which were printed in a se- 
parate collection at St. Petersburg in 1816, and 
which are distinguished by their warm spirit of 
patriotism, and by a sublimity of eloquence which 
steals upon the heart. The most remarkable of 
these works is The Official Narrative of the taking 
and occupation of Moscow by the Enemy, which 
may be found reprinted in the second volume, page 
230, of Gretsch's Manual of Russian Literature. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 355 

In 1814, at the death of A. A. Nartoff, he was chosen 
president of the Russian Academy, and while hold- 
ing this office he formed an entirely new organisa- 
tion of that distinguished society. In 1818 he pub- 
lished at St. Petersburg a prose translation from the 
Italian of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. In the re- 
ports of the Russian Academy are to be found his 
translations On the Origin and Variations of the 
Sclavonic Languages. Some years afterwards he 
received an appointment in the ministry. 

Schlozer (August Ludwig), was born on the 5th 
of July, 1735, in the Hohenlohe-Kirchbergish vil- 
lage of Jagstadt, studied in 1751 at Wittenberg, 
and from 1754 at Gottingen. In 1755 he went to 
Sweden ; from 1756 he lived at Upsal and Stock- 
holm ; he spent the winter of 1758-1759 at Lubeck; 
and in the spring of 1759 returned to Gottingen to 
make preparations for his journey into the East. 
From that place he went in 1761 to St. Petersburg, 
at the invitation of professor Miiller, who under- 
took to supply him there with everything which 
he might require for his projected travels. After 
his arrival there, he was made adjunct to the Aca- 
demy of Sciences in 1762; and in 1764 was re- 
called to Gottingen to undertake the duties there 
of a professor ; nevertheles in the same year he re- 
ceived by command of the Empress Catherine the 
Second, the appointment of Ordinary Professor of 
History to the Academy, with special directions to 
apply himself to the study of ancient Russian his- 
tory. In 1769 he took leave of his Russian ap- 
pointments, and went as ordinary professor of phi- 
losophy to Gottingen, where, after the death of 

Aa2 



356 A LEXICON OF 

Achenwall, the Hanoverian government intrusted 
to him also the duty of lecturing on statistics, po- 
litics, and the history of the European states. In 
1773-1774 he visited France; and in 1780-1782 
Italy. In 1782 he became imperial councillor, and 
was the first protestant who received the compli- 
ment of a doctor's degree in laws at Inspruck. In 
1802 he was made knight of the order of St. Wla- 
dimir, fourth class, in acknowledgment of his edi- 
tion of Nestor ; and in 1807 he received from the 
Hanoverian government the dignity of Privy Coun- 
cillor of Justice. He died on the 9th of September 
1809. Of his fifty-four works on historical, poli- 
tical, and statistical subjects, we will confine our- 
selves here to mentioning those which were either 
published in the Russian language, or relate to 
Russia. 1. On the Election of the Kings of Po- 
land, St. Petersburg, 1764. 2. Russian Jurispru- 
dence, St. Petersburg, 1764. 3. The Russian Chro- 
nicles according to Nikon's Manuscript, which 
was edited under his superintendence. 4. A Rus- 
sian Grammar, St. Petersburg, 1763. This work 
only goes as far as the declension of adjectives. 
The nine sheets of it however which were printed, 
of which only a few copies are now extant, contain 
a number of excellent and important rules, of which 
the authors of more recent Grammars have plenti- 
fully availed themselves. 5. Modernised Russia, 
four parts, 1767 to 1771. 6. Specimens of Rus- 
sian Annals, 176S. 7. Laxeman's Siberian Let- 
ters. 8. Oskold and Dir. 9. Historical Inquiries 
into the first Origin of Russian Law. 10. Nestor; 
his Russian Annals, collated, translated, and illus- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 357 

trated. By his edition of this last work (compare 
article Nestor) he did a vast service to ancient 
Russian history. A copious biography of Schlozer 
has been published by his son Christian von Schlo- 
zer*, under the title The Public and Private Life 
of Aug. Ludw. v. Schlozer, taken from Original 
papers, and illustrated by many personal recollec- 
tions, two volumes, Leipsic, 1828. 

Schmidt (J. A. E.), lecturer in the Russian and 
modern Greek languages at the University of Leip- 
sic, has published the following instruction-books 
in the Russian language : 1. A Practical Grammar 
of the Russian Language, etc. Leipsic, 1813. 2. 
The most recent Russo-German and German-Rus- 
sian Pocket Dictionary, two parts, Leipsic, 1815. 
3. A Russo-German and German-Russian Diction- 
ary for the Hand, Leipsic, by Tauchnitz, stereotype 
edition. 4. A Guide to the Acquirement of the 
Russian Language, in two parts: I. Specimens of 
exercises to be translated into Russian ; II. Selec- 
tions of Russian pieces for reading with a voca- 
bulary, Leipsic, 1830. The hand-dictionary men- 
tioned in number three, is particularly to be re- 
commended. 

Schtscherbatoff (Prince Michael Michailo- 
witsch), privy councillor, senator, president of the 
College of the Chamber, knight of the order of St. 
Anne, honorary member of the Academy of Sciences 
at St. Petersburg, acting member of the Russian 
Academy, and of the Free Russian Learned So- 



x An imperial Russian councillor of state, professor emeritus, ami 
knight of the order of St. Anne, second class. 



358 A LEXICON OF 

ciety of the Moscow University, was born on the 
22nd of June, 1733, and instructed in the French 
and Italian languages, and various branches of sci- 
ence under the paternal roof. In 1746 he entered 
the body guards in the regiment of SemenofF, in 
which he served upwards from the lowest rank ; 
but was in 1756 promoted by express desire of the 
crown, to be cornet in the same regiment ; in 1761 
to be lieutenant; in 1762 to be lieutenant-captain; 
and in the same year he took leave of the service 
with the rank of full captain. In 1767 he was 
chosen by the nobility of Jarosslawl to be their 
deputy in the commission for projecting a design 
for a new statute-book ; in the same year he was 
made gentleman of the bedchamber; in 1768 as- 
sessor to the trade commission; in 1771 was pro- 
moted to be master of the Heralds' Office ; in 1773 
to be acting chamberlain; in 1778 to be privy coun- 
cillor and president of the Board of Revenue ; in 
the same year assessor of the department for the 
collection of the duties on spirits; and on the 1st 
of January, 1779, a member of the directing senate. 
He died on December 12, 1790. Prince Schtscher- 
batoff felt from his earliest youth a strong inclina- 
tion for Russian history, and was careful in the col- 
lection of all possible books which bore on his fa- 
vourite subject. When Catherine the Second heard 
of his zeal in the year 1768, she intrusted to him 
the arrangement of the cabinet of archives of Peter 
the Great, and ordered that all the libraries and 
archives in the empire should be open to him. As 
soon as he had drawn the necessary materials from 
these illustrious sources, lie began composing A 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 359 

History of Russia. The first volume of this, which 
is dedicated to the Empress Catherine the Second, 
was printed in quarto at St. Petersburg in 1770, 
where as many as fifteen books of it had come out 
in the year 1772. He however never brought this 
work to a conclusion, and only carried it down to 
the time of the Czar Michael Feodorowitsch. Here 
we are bound to observe that his history is com- 
posed in a dry and difficult style, without a know- 
ledge of criticism, and is full of inaccuracies. The 
major-general Boltin, in writing his remarks upon 
the history of Le Clerc, impugned these inaccura- 
cies. Schtscherbatoff, offended at Boltin's remarks, 
published in 1789 at Moscow, A Justificatory Let- 
ter to a Friend, intended to repel certain public 
and private attacks made upon his history by ma- 
jor-general Boltin in his notes to Le Clerc's His- 
tory. Boltin again retorted upon this letter in his 
Answer of G. M. Boltin to the Letter of Prince 
Schtscherbatoff, author of the History of Russia, 
St. Petersburg, 1789; and Schtscherbatoff once 
more rejoined with Remarks upon this retort, un- 
der the fictitious name of a nobleman returned 
home after a long sojourn in foreign countries. 
These Remarks were first published (after the death 
of the author) at Moscow in 1792. In the mean- 
time Boltin has occupied himself in a still closer 
scrutiny of the works of Prince Schtscherbatoff. 
This last critical production appeared after the 
death of both authors, at St. Petersburg, 1793 and 
1794, in two vols., by the title of Critical Notices, 
by M. G. Boltin, upon the two first parts of Prince 
Schtscherbatoff 's Russian History. Schtscherbatoff 



360 A LEXICON OF 

wrote, besides the above-mentioned History of Rus- 
sia, and the controversial works to which it gave 
occasion, the following books : 1. On the Ancient 
Distinctions of Rank among the Russians, printed 
at Moscow, 1784 : as also in the Ancient Russian 
Library, where also the family pedigree of the 
princes of Schtscherbatoff and some other princely 
families which were drawn out by him, are pre- 
served. 2. A Short Historical Information re- 
specting the Descent of the Russian Princes who 
are of the lineage of the Grand Prince Rurik, 
printed at Moscow, 1785. A number of essays 
from his pen are to be found in all the periodicals 
of the time ; as for instance, in the St. Petersburg 
Monthly Register, an article On the Use of Laws : 
in the Academical Reports, an Essay on the An- 
cient Coins of Russia. Besides these, he published 
A Short Account of the Usurpers of the Russian 
Crown, St. Petersburg, 1774. 2. The Book of the 
Czars, St. Petersburg, 1769. 3. Chronicles of the 
Czars, St. Petersburg, 1772. 4. A Chronicle of 
many Insurrections in Russia, principally taken from 
the chronicle of Paliziin, St. Petersburg, 1771. 5. 
A Biography of Peter the Great, after an original 
work printed at Venice, but including many novel 
remarks and additional matter. 6. The Journal, 
or Day-Book, of Peter the Great, two parts, St. 
Petersburg, 1770 and 1771. 7. All the Letters and 
Notes of Business from the same Journal for the 
years 1704, 1705, and 1706 ; with many original 
notes respecting the officers of state, and of the 
household of that Emperor, printed at St. Peters- 
burg, 1774. 8. Sketches of the Government of 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 361 

Monomach, etc. Not long before his death he 
wrote also Consolatory Reflections of a Mourning 
Father on the death of a Beloved Son, printed at 
Moscow, 1790. The occasion of this work was the 
death of his son, Colonel Prince I wan Michailo- 
witsch, who died at Kislar. Schtscherbatoff left 
behind him a number of other works, which have 
not yet been printed. His library contained 15,000 
volumes, and he possessed a vast collection of cu- 
riosities, and mechanical instruments. 

Schuwaloff (Iwan Iwanowitsch), acting privy 
councillor, upper chamberlain, etc., was born at 
Moscow in 1727, and received a careful educa- 
tion in his parents' house. While very young he 
came as a page to the court, afterwards he served 
there in the capacity of gentleman of the bedcham- 
ber and chamberlain, and in 1754, at the time of 
the foundation of the University of Moscow, which 
was principally owing to his zealous advocacy of it, 
he was already made lieutenant-general. Peter the 
Third promoted him to be Director of the Land 
Cadet Corps. In the first years of Catherine's 
reign, Schuwaloff travelled throughout Europe, and 
spent some years at Rome, from which place he sent 
to the Academy of Arts costly impressions from the 
ancient statues. After his return to his native coun- 
try, in 1777, he was most graciously received by the 
Empress, and appointed curator of the University 
of Moscow. He died in 1798. Schuwaloff was a 
passionate lover of sciences, arts, and literature ; 
especially of those of his native land. To his en- 
couragement and support Russia is indebted for 
some of her best authors — as for instance, Lomo- 



3G2 A LEXICON OF 

nossoff, Dershawin, and many others. He received 
from his contemporaries the name of the Russian 
Maecenas, and impartial posterity has confirmed the 
propriety of the appellation. 

Sellj (Sellius). See Nikodem. 

Semiwlack. See Grigorj. 

Sera . skj (Fodor Iwanowitsch), teacher at the 
Seminary of Rasan; translated some of the speeches 
from Titus Livius, which are printed in the Eu- 
ropean Messenger for the year 1809. 

Sestrenzewitsch-Bogusch (Stanisslaff), metro- 
politan of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia, 
and knight of several orders, member of the Rus- 
sian Academy and other learned societies, president 
of the free Economical Society, was born on the 
31st of December, 1731. He was the author of 
the following historical works : 1. The History of 
the Tauris from the earliest times till the period 
of its complete subjugation by Russia, two vols. St. 
Petersburg, 1806. 2. An Inquiry into the descent 
and origin of the Russian People, St. Petersburg, 
1818. 

Shukofskj (Wassilj Andrejewitsch), councillor of 
state, knight, and member of the Russian Academy, 
was born in the year 1783. He received his scien- 
tific education at the school at Tula, afterwards at 
the Institute for young nobles attached to the Mos- 
cow university, and after the completion of his 
course of studies there, entered the service of the 
state. In the year 1812 he made the campaign in 
"the ranks of the Moscow volunteers, and earned 
by his services the order of St. Anne, second class. 
The Emperor Alexander, in the year 181G, settled 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 3GS 

on him a yearly pension for life of 4000 roubles, 
and in 1S17 summoned him to the court to teach 
her Majesty, the present Empress Alexandra, the 
Russian language. Afterwards he was inspector 
of the studies of his Imperial Highness the Grand 
Prince, the heir to the throne ; and in 1821 he re- 
ceived the Prussian order of the Red Eagle. Shu- 
kofskj began his literary career in 1802, while yet 
a student in the University. His first poetical at- 
tempts excited the general attention of all the 
friends of literature. In 1808 he was editor of the 
European Intelligencer; and in 1809 he was asso- 
ciated with Katschenofskj in the same duty. Never- 
theless lyric poetry continued ever to be his most 
favourite pursuit. In 1816 appeared at St. Peters- 
burg the first edition of his Poems, and in 1818 
another edition, in four parts, was published. In 
the first three parts are lyric poems (of which the 
most celebrated is The Bard in the Camp of the 
Russian Warriors of 1812), romances, songs, ballads 
(first introduced by Shukofskj among the Russians), 
elegies, and several minor poems. In the fourth 
part are contained his prose works ; for instance, 
Marien's Forest, which has been translated into 
elegant French, by the title of Le Bois de Marie, 
and constitutes a highly original and interesting 
novel, which we recommend to the reader : Upon 
Criticism : Upon the Fable : Upon the Fables of 
Kruloff : Upon the Satires of Kantemir: The Three 
Sisters, etc. etc. After this Shukofskj translated 
some acts of Schiller's Jungfrau von Orleans, and 
a fragment of Moore's romance of Lalla Rookh, 
called Paradise and the Peri (see article Alexander 



364 A LEXICON OF 

Puschkin). Shukofskj is a pupil in the school of 
romantic poetry, and the founder of it in Russia. 
Deep feeling and bold imagination constitute the ro- 
mantic beauties, and equally those of Shukofskj's 
poetry. None of the modern Russian poets awakens 
more enthusiasm than he. Who can resist the en- 
chantments of the muse of his favourite Swetlana ? 
His prose is equally a model. His original novel, 
Marien's Forest, may be named as no unworthy 
companion by the side of Karamsin's Marfa Posad- 
niza. In many of his translations, which besides 
their fidelity and closeness, are remarkable for the 
flowing fulness of the language, Shukofskj has sur- 
passed his originals. Compare, on the subject of 
himself and his works, Pletneff's Characteristics of 
Russian Authors, and A. Bestuscheffs Review of 
Russian Literature. 

Shuscheuin (I wan Korniljewitsch), a hypo-dea- 
con, was employed in the service of the patriarch 
Nikon, and was born at Novogorod. He en- 
joyed the especial favour of that venerable ecclesi- 
astic ; after whose fall, suspicion fell also on Shus- 
cherin ; he was detained eleven days before the 
secret chancery, and was afterwards imprisoned 
for more than three years. At last he was sent to 
Novogorod, where he lived in exile for ten years ; 
but at the expiration of that term, was restored to 
liberty, and permitted to return to Moscow. Shus- 
cherin is the author of The Life of Nikon, which 
was published at St. Petersburg in 1784, under the 
title of The Biography of the most holy Patriarch 
Nikon, composed by a servant of the church. 

Simon, first bishop of Susdal and Wladimir (con- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 365 

secrated in 1215, and died in 1226), and his rela- 
tion, who lived with him, Policarp, a monk of the 
Subterranean Monastery at Kieff, wrote the bio- 
graphies of some of the saints of that monastery, 
which are known by the name of the Petscherisch- 
Paterikon. The first edition of this was printed 
in folio at Kieff in 1661, with illustrative figures, 
under the following title, The Paterikon, or Otetsch- 
nik of Kieff (see Appendix), containing the Lives of 
the Saints and most venerable Fathers who have 
been renowned in our Cloister. This book was 
afterwards several times reprinted at Kieff and at 
Moscow. The first and third parts are by Simon, 
but the second is the work of Polikarp. Of Simon's 
writings, the following are also appended to the 
Paterikon : The Traditions of the Miracle-Work- 
ing Church of the Subterranean Monastery at Kieff: 
and the Official Letter to Policarp. 

Skorina (Franciscus), doctor of medicine, born 
at Polozk, lived at the beginning of the sixteenth 
century, in the house of the old burgomaster Jakoff 
Babitsch at Wilna. He translated the whole of the 
Bible from the Latin into the Russian of his own 
time, under the title of The Russian Bible, translated 
by the Doctor of Medicine, Franciscus, son of Sko- 
rina, of the famous town of Polozk, for the Honour 
of God, and for the Instruction and Improvement 
of the Polish People. Of this translation only cer- 
tain portions are now known : viz. some of the 
books of the Old Testament, and one Evangelist of 
the New. They appeared in the following order : 
1. The Book of Job. 2. Jesus, Son of Sirach. 3. 
The Proverbs of Solomon, 1517. 4. The Wisdom 



366 A LEXICON OF 

of Solomon. 5. The Preacher of Solomon. 6. 
Song of Solomon. 7. The Four Books of Kings, 
1518. 8. The Five Books of Moses. 9. Joshua. 
10. The Book of Judges. 11. Ruth. 12. Judith. 
13. Esther. 14. The Lamentations of Jeremiah. 
15. Daniel, 1519. 16. The Acts of the Apostles, 
1525. The fifteen first books were printed at 
Praga, near Warsaw, in Sclavonic letters, in quarto, 
and the Acts of the Apostles at Wilna, in octavo. 
To these books Skorina furnished a preface, an 
index, and a number of wood-cuts. 

Slawinezkj. See Epiphanj. 

Slapuschkln (Feodor), a peasant, is a poet of na- 
ture, and has also acquired the art of painting en- 
tirely self-taught. His poems bear the title of 
Hours of Leisure, by a Villager. 

Smotrizkj. See Meletj. 

Sokoloff (Peter Iwanowitsch), councillor of state 
and knight, ordinary member and perpetual secre- 
tary to the Russian Academy, librarian and (since 
1795) editor of the political newspaper of the Aca- 
demy of Sciences, member of numerous learned 
societies, was born at Moscow in the year 17C6. 
He received his early education at the Academy of 
Moscow, next studied at the University of that 
place, and last of all at the Gymnasium of the Aca- 
demy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. While yet a 
student, he was elected one of the members of the 
Russian Academy at its first institution; in 17 s <> 
he was appointed a teacher at the academical Gym- 
nasium ; in 1793 he was made ordinary member 
of the Russian Academy; and in 1802 chosen per- 
petual secretary. Sokoloff took an active part in 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 367 

the compilation of the famous Dictionary of the 
Russian Academy, and of the Grammar published 
by the same society, of which a third edition ap- 
peared in 1819. He himself published Rudiments 
of the Russian Grammar, which was printed five 
times from 1788 to 1810. He also wrote A Short 
Russian Grammar, which the Upper School Direc- 
tory published again in 1809. In 1805 he appeared 
as the author of the first part of The Bee, or a Col- 
lection of various poetical and prose Essays from 
Russian authors. Besides this (assisted by other 
hands) he translated: 1. The Biography of the 
Chancellor de L'Hopital, St. Petersburg, 1787. 
2. Ovid's Metamorphoses, one part, printed toge- 
ther with the Latin original in 1808. 3. The se- 
cond and third parts of the Lyceum of La Harpe, 
published by the Russian Academy. After this he 
engaged in the translation of Livy, and of Virgil's 
iEneid. Sokoloff died at St. Petersburg, January 
22, 1835. 

Solotareff (Peter), the son of a bojar, was em- 
ployed in the ministry under Joseph the metropo- 
litan of Astracan, and wrote A History of the As- 
tracan Rebellion of the Cossack Stenek Rasin, and 
of the Murders which then took place of the Me- 
tropolitan Joseph, the Bojar Prince Prosorofskj, 
and a number of Woiwodes, 1669. Manuscripts of 
this book are to be found in the Moscow Synodal 
Library, and the Library of Alexander Newskj, at 
St. Petersburg. 

Soograpii. See Dimitrj. 

Sophia Alexejewna, imperial princess, was born 
in 1656, and died in 1704. In the Pantheon of 



368 A LEXICON OF 

Russian Writers, the following passage occurs : 
" Here is not the place to paint the character of 
Sophia, who was one of the greatest, women that 
Russia has produced. We will only remark, that 
in point of intelligence and the qualities of her soul, 
she is well worthy to be called one of the sisters 
of Peter the Great ; but dazzled by the love of 
power, she wished to rule and command alone, and 
she imposes on her historian in some cases the 
ungrateful duty of being her accuser. Sophia also 
occupied herself much with literature. She com- 
posed tragedies, and herself took part in their re- 
presentation before the circle of her immediate and 
intimate friends. We have read one of her dramas 
in manuscript, and are of opinion that this princess 
might be ranked by the side of the most eminent 
female authors of all ages, if only a more pure 
and cultivated taste had guided the power of her 
imagination." 

Sophronj (Sophronius), a priest of Rasan ; lived 
at the end of the fifteenth century, and wrote The 
History or Narrative of the Invasion of the Un- 
godly Czar Mamai, with a countless host of Aga- 
rans (Tatars). This poem has been considered by 
some authors to be an authentic narration of facts. 
It is inferior to the Address to the Army of Igor, 
and contains some passages which prove that the 
author must have been acquainted with that com- 
position. Of the same date there exists a Pa- 
negyric upon the Grand Prince Dimitrj Johanno- 
witsch, which is most likely the composition also of 
Sophronius. A manuscript copy of the poem on 
the invasion of Mamai is preserved in the library of 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 369 

Count F. A. Tolstoj ; and extracts with translations 
from both works may be found printed at the end 
of the fifth volume of the History of the Empire of 
Russia. 

Sopikoff (Wassilj Stepanowitsch), busied himself 
for a long time with the Russian book-trade, and 
since 1811 has been employed in the Imperial Pub- 
lic Library. He wrote an Essay on Russian Bib- 
liography, which appeared at St. Petersburg, in five 
parts, 1813-1821 . The fifth part, which was printed 
after the death of the author, which occurred in 
1818, was completed and carried through the press 
by Wassilj Grigorjewitsch Anastassewitsch. 

Sotoff, imperial councillor, is the author of the 
following romances : 1. The Mysterious Monk, or 
Some Passages in the Time of Peter the Great. 2. 
Leonid, or Some Passages in the Life of Napoleon. 
For the former work he was rewarded by a valu- 
able diamond ring from the Emperor. Besides these, 
he has written A History of Europe, under the 
Reign of Alexander the First. He is still living, as 
we believe, at St. Petersburg. 

Spasskj published at St. Petersburg the Siberian 
Courier, in which are to be found many curious 
and interesting articles upon Siberia, with which 
Europeans are still so little acquainted. 

Speranskj (Michael Michailowitsch), has done 
good service both to literature and Christian ethics 
by an excellent translation of the work of Thomas 
a Kempis On the Imitation of Jesus Christ, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1819. This work, so highly valued both 
by Catholics and Protestants, has been translated 

Bb 



370 A LEXICON OF 

into almost all the languages of Europe ; but has 
only recently appeared in a Dutch version, by Per- 
poncher and Schfant 7 . 

Ssomoff, author of an essay On the Romantic, 
which appeared in a journal published at St. Pe- 
tersburg by the Society for the Promotion of En- 
lightenment and Beneficence. 

Stephan (Jaworskj, baptized Symeon), metropo- 
litan of Rasan, and president of the Holy Synod, 
was born in 1658, at Lemberg, of noble Russian 
parents, who afterwards settled in Little Russia. 
He received his education at the Academy of Kieff, 
and afterwards visited with the most beneficial re- 
sult the seats of education in Poland. After this 
he took the tonsure at the Subterranean Monastery 
at Kieff, and exercised the duties of teacher and 
preacher at the Academy there. In the year 1700 
he was despatched to Moscow, where he drew upon 
him the notice of the monarch by his delivery of 
a funeral sermon. Peter desired him to continue 
at Moscow, and soon advanced him to the dignity 
of metropolitan of Rasan. In 1702 the duties of 
patriarch were intrusted to him, with the rank and 
titles of administrator, exarch, vicar, and conser- 
vator of the Patriarchal Chair ; and besides this, he 
was appointed protector of the Clerical Academy 
at Moscow. In 1712 the superintendence of the 
improvements which were made about this time in 
the Sclavonic Bible was intrusted to him. Ste- 
phan resided for the most part with his royal \ra- 

* See N. G. van Kampcn's Beknoph Gesehiedcnia dar lettcn 
Wetenschappen in <.k Nederlanden f tie. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 371 

tron, at Moscow and St. Petersburg, where he was 
constantly engaged either in preaching or in the 
services of the cathedral, or else at court in the 
management of the affairs of the Russian church. 
In 1721, at the opening of the Holy Synod, he was 
elected its president, but soon after died at Mos- 
cow, viz. on the 27th of November, 1722. This 
prelate is highly illustrious among the clerical 
orators of his time. The sermons and funeral 
discourses of his composition were printed at Mos- 
cow in 1804; and, as Katschenofskj remarks in 
his Review of the Progress of Russian Eloquence in 
the First Half of the Eighteenth Century, "They are 
remarkable for their fulness of thought, although not 
always select, and taken wholesale from the an- 
cient Greek and Roman writers." Stephan's great- 
est work is The Rock of Faith for the Orthodox 
Catholic Eastern Church, etc., in which he endea- 
voured to controvert the various false doctrines 
which had insinuated themselves into the Catholic 
church. This book, which was not printed until 
1728, was the occasion of long controversies be- 
tween the Russian-Greek and the Protestant theo- 
logical writers. 

Storch (Andrej Karlowitsch), an academician, 
acting councillor of state and knight, was born at 
Riga, in 1766, was educated at the universities 
of Jena and Heidelberg, and afterwards travelled 
through the principal countries of Europe. In 
1788 he was made professor of literature and his- 
tory to the Land Cadet Corps : in 1789 placed at 
the College for Foreign Affairs : in 1798 appointed 
tutor to the Grand Princesses, and afterwards to 

Bb 2 



372 A LEXICON OF 

the Grand Princes also, and in 1804 chosen an aca- 
demician. He published in the German language 
many important works relative to the statistics of 
the Russian Empire; for instance, 1. Pictures of 
St. Petersburg, two parts, 1792. 2. A Statistical 
Survey of the Russian Empire, in tables, 1795. 3. 
Sketches of the Russian Empire, three parts, 1796- 
1802. 4. Russia under Alexander the First, nine 
parts, 1803-1807. In the French language he 
published, 5. Corns cV Economic Politique, six parts, 
1815 ; and in the Russian language, in conjunction 
with the councillor of state Adelung, 6. A Review 
of Russian Literature from 1801 to 1805, two parts, 
1808. Storch died at the end of the year 1835. 

Stritter (Johann Gotthilf), councillor of state 
and knight, was born at Stettin, in the year 1740, 
became adjunct at the Academy of Sciences at St. 
Petersburg, lived during that time at St. Peters- 
burg, and in 1785 was placed at Moscow in the 
archives of the College for Foreign Affairs, and 
died at Moscow in 1S01. He deserves our especial 
acknowledgments for his publication of Information 
respecting the Byzantine Historians who have il- 
lustrated the Early History of Russia. This work, 
which was written in Latin, and printed in four vo- 
lumes at St. Petersburg, 1771-1780, was translated 
into Russian by Wassilj Swiitoff, and printed at the 
same place in 1770-1775. Besides this, Stritter was 
the author of A History of Russia, in three parts, 
of which the third part, which reaches to the year 
14G2, was published at St. Petersburg in 1800- 
1803. 

Strojeff. See Malinofskj. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 373 

Strugoffschtschikoff (Alex. Stepanowitsch), 
imperial councillor, member of several academies 
and learned societies, translated an excellent work 
of Colonel Reiis into Russian, called Elements, or 
Fundamental Rules in Philosophy, Politics, and 
Morals. The first volume was published in 1807, 
St. Petersburg. 

Sudoftschikoff wrote the comedy, The Un- 
heard-of Wonder, or The Honest Secretary. It is 
composed in metre, and contains much truth in a 
lively form. 

Sujeff. See Pallas. 

Sumarokoff (Alex. Petrowitsch), acting coun- 
cillor of state and knight, was born in 1718. His 
father, a major-general, began his education at 
home ; afterwards he was placed in the Land Cadet 
Corps, in which he soon distinguished himself by 
his abilities. At the same time that Lomonossoff 
was busily engaged at Marburg in endeavouring to 
imitate Giinther and other poets of Germany, Su- 
marokoff was reading Racine and Corneille, and 
improving the barbarous chorusses of Tredjakofskj. 
In the year 1748 he first began writing tragedies, 
which were enacted by the cadets, and considered 
not unworthy of notice by the Empress Elizabeth, 
who caused him to be appointed in 1756 director 
of the Russian Court-Theatre. In 1759 he pub- 
lished the journal called The Industrious Bee. He 
died at Moscow, October 1st, 1777. His collected 
works were published by Nowikoff in 1787, in ten 
volumes. They contain, in prose, among other 
things, 1. A Short Chronicle of Moscow. 2. A 
Description of the Two First Insurrections of the 



374 A LEXICON OF 

Strelitzes, incomplete. 3. An Introduction to the 
History of Peter the Great, incomplete. 4. Some 
Essays on Virtue. 5. The First Principles of 
Worldly-Wisdom. 6. Of Russian Pulpit Eloquence. 
7. Various Minor, Moral, Satirical, and Historical 
Treatises. 8. Dialogues in the Kingdom of the 
Dead. 9. Comedies: among others, The Guardian; 
The Usurer; The Revengeful Man; Narcissus, etc. 
10. Operas: Alceste ; Cephalus and Procris. 11. 
The Hermit, a drama. 12. Orations : Upon Pe- 
ter the Great ; To Catherine the Second ; To the 
Grand Prince Paul Petrowitsch ; On the Opening 
of the Imperial Academy of Arts ; On the Laying 
of the Foundation of the Kremlin Palace ; Upon 
the Love of One's Neighbour. In verse, 1. Tragedies : 
Choreff; Hamlet; Sinaff and Truwor ; Aristome ; 
Semira; Jaropolk and Demisa; Wuschesslaff; The 
Pseudo Dimitrj (his best work, translated in 1S00 
into French, and still more recently into English) ; 
Mstisslaff. 2. Translations or Versions of almost 
all David's Psalms. 3. Various Spiritual and Moral 
Poems. 4. Inscriptions. 5. Epistles. 6. Festival 
Odes. 7. Allegories ; in six books, which were 
for a long time considered to be perfect models, 
but which have now little to recommend them 
but their antiquity. 8. Satires. 9. Eclogues and 
Idylls. 10. Songs and Chorusses. 11. Elegies. 
12. Sonnets, Epigrams, Madrigals, and other small 
poems. Alexander Bestuscheff characterizes this 
prolific writer in the following words : " Suma- 
rokoff, the cotemporary and rival of LomonossofF, 
is the creator of the Russian theatre. He wrote 
in every different species of poetry : but the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 375 

laurels he so hardly earned, are fast fading and 
withering away, for inexorable posterity refuses to 
him the fame of a classical author. In the Russian 
drama, constant imitation of the French, the most 
complete contempt of the unity of place, indistinct- 
ness of character in the persons represented, cold- 
ness of passion, and complicated plots — these are 
faults which are not easily to be got over. The 
simplicity in his Fables and Idylls is affected : the 
wit in his comedies is forced ; and above all, the 
charms of imagination and feeling, few and far be- 
tween as they are, are enveloped always in a diffi- 
cult and thorny style." Merslakoff too, in his Cha- 
racteristics of Russian Authors, says very happily, 
in drawing a comparison between LomonossofF and 
SumarokofT, " LomonossofF is the slow, uniform, 
and heavy eagle, that poises himself in the air and 
floats there : SumarokofT is rather like the bird 
which flutters above the surface of the earth, and 
pursues its object with the most tortuous and rapid 
gyrations." 

Sumarokoff (Pankratj). The particulars of the 
life of this author are not accurately known to us. 
We only know that he lived in the year 1790 at 
Tobolsk, and afterwards at Moscow. In the former 
town he edited, in 1793, the journal called The 
Irtiisch, transformed into the Hippocrene ; and at 
Moscow, in 1802, The Journal of Agreeable, In- 
structive, and Entertaining Reading. In the year 
1799 his poems were printed at Moscow, in two 
parts. Amongst them, two novels are particularly 
good, viz. Love Robbed of his Sight, and Al'nass- 
kar ; besides some Mahrchen, or popular tales. 



376 A LEXICON OF 

Swatoff. See Stritter. 

Swinjin, author of the work, Travels of a Painter 
in America. 

SwinsiuSj the editor of Patriotic Papers, St. Pe- 
tersburg. These contain, among other excellent 
articles, Characteristic Traits of the Manners of 
the Russian People. 

Sylvester, bishop of Perejaslawl, died in April, 
1124 ; he was, as Tatischtscheff tells us, one of the 
continuers of Nestor's Chronicle, certainly from 
1111 to 1116. 

Sylvester (properly Symeon Medwadjeff), prior 
of the monastery of Saikonospaskj at Moscow, a 
scholar of Symeon Polozkj, wrote a number of po- 
lemical works, which are remarkable for their warm 
support of the Romish church ; on which account 
also he was punished by being deprived of his be- 
nefices, and being immured in a monastery. At 
last, in the year 1691, he was condemned to death 
for being implicated in a conspiracy against the 
government, and an insurrection of the Strelitzes. 
He wrote a very partial account of the revolt of 
the Strelitzes, and composed a number of poems ; 
for instance, 1. A Poem on the Marriage of the 
Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch. 2. The Complaint 
and Consolation of Russia for the Death of the 
Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch. 3. A Letter to the 
Princess Sophia Alexejewna, upon the Presentation 
of the Statutes of the Moscow Academy, etc. 

Symeon Medwadjeff. See Sylvester. 

Symeon Polozkj, (or as he wrote it himself, Sy- 
meon Petrofskj Sitianowitsch Polozkj,) born at Po- 
lozk in 1628. was educated at different foreign uni- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 377 

versities, relinquished the monk's vow in White 
Russia, and was consecrated a hieromonach. After 
Smolensk was united with Russia, he went with 
many other ecclesiastics from White Russia, in the 
year 1667, to Moscow, was received by the Czar 
with great goodwill, and appointed tutor to the 
Zarewitsch Feodor Alexejewitsch. The patriarch 
Joassaph consigned to him the composition and 
compilation of a number of church books. In 1668 
Symeon wrote in praise of the Czar Alexej Mi- 
chailowitsch a large book in verse, entitled The 
Russian Eagle surrounded by the Sunbeams. Af- 
ter this he composed a great many things in prose 
and verse, and some theological and dramatic works, 
which however he did not print. His plays how- 
ever were sometimes represented in the private 
apartments of the Princess Sophia Alexejewna. 
After the death of the Czar Feodor Alexejewitsch, 
he continued at the court, where he was always 
regarded with great esteem. He was the first 
man who began in Russia to write sermons, and 
to deliver them freely before the people in the 
churches of Moscow, after the manner practised by 
the priests of Lesser Russia and Poland ; for till 
his time it had been customary to read to the 
people homilies selected from the Fathers, and 
approved of by the patriarch and synod. For the 
printing of his works he erected a private press of 
his own at the court, in the year 16S0. Various 
innovations and deviations from the practice of the 
orthodox church, brought upon him the ill-will of 
the patriarch, and caused misunderstandings be- 
tween them, which only ceased with the death of 



378 A LEXICON OF 

Symeon, which took place on the 25th of August, 
1680. Of his works, the following were printed : 
1. The Staff of Government, which he wrote at 
the suggestion of the patriarch Joseph, and which 
was published in 1668, in the names of the united 
Russian clergy, to refute the heresies of the Rass- 
kolniks. 2. Lessons on Proper Behaviour in the 
House of God, and at the Hearing of the Holy 
Liturgy. 3. Instructions of the Priests to their 
Flocks, etc. 4. The Psalter in Verse, printed at 
the above-mentioned court-press. This book de- 
serves especial mention, because it was the read- 
ing of this which first excited in LomonossofF the 
love of poetry. 5. Spiritual Dinner ; and 6. Spi- 
ritual Supper, two collections of spiritual, edify- 
ing discourses. Of his manuscripts which have 
never been printed, we may afford to notice here 
the Rythmologion, or poems on various occasions, 
among which are to be found the comedy of The 
Lost Son, and the tragedy of Nebuchadnezzar, The 
Golden Image, and The Three Children in the Fiery 
Furnace. 



T * * * (P.), wrote the comedy of The Heirs, 
in one act, St. Petersburg, 1799. 

Tappe (August Wilhelm), professor at the Royal 
Forest Institute at Tharand, near Dresden, and 
knight of the order of St. Anne, third class, has 
merited well of the Russian language and literature, 
and has contributed much to facilitate and acce- 
lerate the acquirement of them by the following 
works : A New Theoretical and Practical Russian 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 379 

Grammar for Germans, with many examples, and 
passages for translating from Russian into Ger- 
man, and from German into Russian, according to 
the best Grammarians ; with a sketch of Russian 
history to be translated into Russian ; of which 
work the first edition appeared in 1810, and the 
sixth in 1826, at St. Petersburg, Riga, and Leipsic. 
2. A New Russian Elementary Reading-book for 
Germans, seventh edition, St. Petersburg, 1827. 3. 
A Russian Historical Reading-book, extracted from 
Karamsin's History of Russia; accentuated through- 
out, for the use of schools and the purposes of 
self-instruction, with explanations of the words, 
and the mode of pronunciation in the German 
and French letters, together with References to the 
Grammar, as a third part to the sixth edition of 
the Russian Grammar, two parts, St. Petersburg, 
1819; second edition, 1825. Of the last work, 
Tappe made a much-admired translation, with the 
following title, The History of Russia, by Karam- 
sin, rendered into German from the original, ac- 
companied with numerous notes and explanatory 
remarks, in one vol., Dresden and Leipsic, 1825. 
This work, clothed as it is in elegant and beautiful 
language, may be regarded as a real addition to our 
historical literature. A good critique on this au- 
thor is to be found in Dem Correspondentem von 
und fur Dentschland, for the 30th of September, 
1828, under the head of Literary Notices. Tappe 
died on the 3rd of April, 1830. 

Tatischtscheff (Wassilj Nikititsch), privy coun- 
cillor, born in 1686, received his early education 
beneath the parental roof, and in 1 70 1 was sent 



380 A LEXICON OF 

out by Peter the Great, along with other distin- 
guished young Ptussians, to travel in foreign coun- 
tries, where he acquired an extensive acquaint- 
ance with the sciences, and learned the German 
and Polish languages. After his return to Rus- 
sia, he was placed in the College of Mines and 
Manufactures, and was frequently employed by 
the Emperor in difficult affairs, particularly in Si- 
beria. In 1723 he was appointed upper master 
of the ceremonies at the court; in 1724 sent to 
Sweden on a secret mission, and was promoted 
to the rank of colonel of artillery. On his re- 
turn from thence, he went again to the Mining Col- 
lege, where he was invested with many honours; 
and in 1734 he was sent out with the rank of act- 
ing councillor of state, to superintend the working 
of the mines in Siberia, with unlimited powers. 
In 1737 he was promoted to be privy councillor 
and master-general of the mining department, with 
an extension of the powers which had been be- 
fore granted him. Wassilj Nikititsch paid the most 
assiduous attention to the duties of his office ; he 
opened several new mines ; improved the old ones ; 
abolished numerous abuses; encouraged the miners 
to persevere in their labours ; and composed a 
book of mining directions. In 1737 the military 
expedition to Orenburg was intrusted to him ; and 
in 1741 he came as governor to Astracan, being 
sent thither chiefly to organise as far as possible 
the Calmuck tribes; but in 1745 his misunder- 
standing with the chief-governor of the Cahnucks 
was seized on as an occasion to transfer all his Cal- 
muck and Astracan duties and honours to general 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 3S1 

Jeropkin. Upon this he quitted Astracan, and 
retired to his estate, called Boldin, which still 
belongs to his descendants, seventy wersts from 
Moscow, where he died on the 15th of July, 1750. 
Of his writings the following are best known : 1. 
A History of Russia from the Earliest Times, col- 
lected and composed during an interval of thirty 
years. This work may rather be considered as an 
old Russian latopiss illustrated with notes. The 
cause of his undertaking this work was the project 
of Count Bruce to make a complete Russian Geo- 
graphy. Tatischtscheff helped him in this design, 
and very soon saw that such a work could not be 
properly accomplished without a detailed History to 
accompany it. He in consequence began to col- 
late the different manuscripts of Nestor's Chronicle, 
which he discovered in Siberia, and to illustrate 
these he extracted the most applicable passages 
that he could find in German or Polish historical 
works, and directed his assistants in the same way 
to translate from French, Latin, and Tatar works. 
On the same plan he also had recourse to extracts 
from the archives of Siberia, Casan, and Astracan. 
Tatischtscheff had intended to continue this History 
to 1613, that is to say, to the accession of the Czar 
Michael Fodorowitsch. He did not however get 
so far, and it is not now known at what precise 
point he discontinued his work, as his original ma- 
nuscript is unfortunately lost. This History was 
for a long period preserved in MS., and accord- 
ing to the notions of the time, was looked upon 
like a state secret, as unfit for publication. After 
the accession of Catherine the Second, however, 



382 A LEXICON OF 

these prejudices were quickly dispelled. The his- 
torian, Miiller, received directions for the publica- 
tion of the History of Tatischtscheff, which he had 
to prepare from a very incorrect manuscript, which 
the son of the author had presented to the Moscow 
University. Miiller corrected many of the mistakes, 
overruled a great many arbitrary decisions of the 
author, and published the first division of this His- 
tory at the Moscow university press, in 4to. 1769 ; 
the second, in 1773 ; and the third, in 1774. The 
fourth division, by far the most incorrect, and less 
illustrated than the others by TatischtschefF's an- 
notations, was also published at St. Petersburg by 
Catherine's order, in 1784. He brought it down 
to the year 1462. This History has been consi- 
dered till our times as a sort of collation of the 
Russian Latopisses, which view is also supported 
by the able critic, Schlozer ; but he refutes such 
a notion respecting the Scythian and Sarmatian 
chronicles, and also with regard to the spurious 
chronicle of Joachim. Boltin followed Tatischts- 
cheff implicitly. It is to be lamented that an inva- 
luable collection of Latopisses and other documents, 
which had served for the compilation of this His- 
tory, fell a sacrifice to the flames. 2. Tatischts- 
cheff also laboured, as has been said above, at 
making a complete Russian Geography. He sent 
land-surveyors into the Siberian provinces, collected 
from various places geographical information and 
plans, arranged, compared, and improved all the 
intelligence he received, and in 1736 and 1739 he 
laid before the cabinet of the Academy of Sci- 
ences the maps of Siberia, and a large atlas of the 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 383 

same country, which was published in 1745, in 
twenty leaves. 3. A Russian Historical-Political- 
Municipal Lexicon, which although only continued 
to the letter I, was printed at St. Petersburg in 
1793. Besides this, he left behind him some his- 
torical writings, which were destroyed by fire, and 
wrote annotations to the Russian Rights, and to 
the Sudebnik (see Appendix) of the Czar Johann 
Wassiljewitsch, which was published and printed 
from his copy at Moscow in 176S and in 1786, 
together with the Russian Rights, in the First 
Part of the continuation of the Ancient Russian 
Library. 

Teploff (Grigorj Nikolajewitsch), privy coun- 
cillor, senator, and knight, died on the 30th of 
March, 1779. In his youth he was occupied in 
learned pursuits, was adjunct to the Academy of 
Sciences, and composed a work entitled Notions 
on Philosophy in general, St. Petersburg, 1751. 

Timkofskj (Roman Fodorowitsch), professor of 
Antiquities and the Latin Language in the Univer- 
sity of Moscow, collegiate councillor and knight, 
died in 1820, in the 34th year of his age. Besides 
the business which necessarily engaged him in the 
study of Roman antiquities in connection with his 
office, he also took an active part in the labours of 
the Moscow Society for Russian History and Anti- 
quities, and prepared a collated edition of the Chro- 
nicle of Nestor. His labour was lost through the 
invasion of 1812. 

Timotheus, a sacristan, is mentioned by Ta- 
tischtschefF as the continuer of the Chronicle of 
Nestor. It is probable, however, that like Johann, 



384 A LEXICON OF 

a priest of Novogorod, he was only a transcriber 
who copied it. 

Tolotschanixoff. See Ijewleff. 

Tolstoj (Count Feodor), still living at St. Pe- 
tersburg, is an author well known to the public, 
and is a still more indefatigable collector of old ma- 
nuscripts and printed books. His library is a mine 
of wealth to historians and antiquarians, as well in 
bibliography as in various other branches of archae- 
ological research. In the year 1830 his collection 
contained nine hundred and seventy-five MSS. of 
the old and middle ages, that is, from the thirteenth 
to the seventeenth century, two hundred and nine- 
teen of which date from the beginning to the mid- 
die of the sixteenth century. Karamsin used this 
library almost daily during the fifteen years that he 
was occupied in the compilation of his History, and 
as he himself says, has drawn his most interesting 
materials from the old manuscripts which he found 
here. It has not been of less service in the pre- 
paration of the recently published collection of old 
Russian laws. The Emperor has lately bought, 
for the sum of 150,000 roubles, this whole collec- 
tion of old MSS. and rare Russian printed works, 
for the Imperial Library. We believe that Count 
Tolstoj is also desirous of selling his collection of 
old books and MSS. in foreign languages, which is 
scarcely less valuable. 

Tranquillion. See Cyrill. 

Tuedjakofskj (Wassilj Kirilowitsch), imperial 
councillor, professor of eloquence, was born at As- 
tracan, on the 22nd of February, 170.'). In his 
youth he travelled through France, England, and 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 385 

Holland, studied various sciences at the Univer- 
sity of Paris, and, among others, eloquence and 
history under the celebrated Rollin. In 1713 he 
was a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of 
Sciences ; in 1733 he was made secretary, and in 
1745 appointed by an ukase to the professorship of 
eloquence. In 1763 he received, at his own re- 
quest, permission to retire with the rank of impe- 
rial councillor. He died on the 6th of August, 
1769. His works are : 1. An Introduction to Rus- 
sian Poetry, St. Petersburg, 1735. 2. A Dialogue 
between a Foreigner and a Russian on the Ancient 
and Modern Orthographies, and on all matters con- 
nected with that subject, St. Petersburg, 1748. 3. 
Deidamia, a tragedy, in five acts. 4. The Tele- 
machid, or a translation of Fenelon's Telemaque 
into metre, St. Petersburg, 1766. 5. Some Festival 
Odes on different occasions, Idylls, Fables, etc., 
which are printed in the collection of his works, 
and also in different numbers of the monthly Trans- 
actions of the Academy of Sciences. 6. Thoughts 
on the Old, Middle, and New Styles of Russian 
Poetry, reprinted in the June number of the Aca- 
demical Transactions for 1755. 7. Three Essays 
on the most remarkable Russian Antiquities, St. 
Petersburg, 1773. Of his translations the follow- 
ing deserve notice : 1. Rollin's Ancient and Roman 
History, twenty-six parts, which he translated en- 
tirely a second time over, the first manuscript 
having been destroyed by the flames, St. Peters- 
burg, 1749-1761, and 1762-1767. 2. Of the Ro- 
man Emperors, four parts, St. Petersburg, 1767- 
1 769. 3. The Military Condition of the Ottoman 

c c 



386 A LEXICON OF 

Empire, St. Petersburg, 1737. 4. The Genealogy 
of Tatar History, St. Petersburg, 1769. 5. Les- 
sons on the Art of Poetry, from Boileau, printed in 
the first volume of his works and translations ; — 
and many others. We pass here, without special 
mention, a quantity of operas, prologues, inter- 
mezzos, odes, etc., which he composed. Tredja- 
kofskj earned by his industry, learning, and love 
of science, as well as by his enlightenment in gene- 
ral, an honourable place on the Russian Parnassus. 
Some of his works (as for instance, the Pteflections 
on the Art of Poetry, from Rollin) still retain their 
favour with the public. He first explained the 
true province of Russian poetry, and shewed how 
ill adapted the syllabic verse is to the Russian lan- 
guage; but yet he had not the talent to exemplify 
the correctness of his own theories and assertions 
by his own works. The style of his prose is re- 
gular, but. inelegant and dull. His verses, how- 
ever, evince a total deficiency of taste and poetic 
talent. The Telemachid and Deidamia remain as 
memorials of his vain endeavours to grasp the 
laurels of poetry. 

Tschebotareff (Chariton Andrejewitsch), coun- 
cillor of state and knight, studied at the University 
of Moscow, but had previously frequented the 
Gymnasium of the same place; and in 1778, on 
the death of professor Reichcl, he succeeded to his 
chair. He died in 1S15, after having been first 
rector of the university, and first professor emeritus. 
He founded the Society for History and Russian 
Antiquities, was the main supporter of it, and 
winked hard on extracts from old Russian Cliro- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 387 

nicies for the Empress Catherine, when she was oc- 
cupied in the collection of materials for the History 
of Russia. Tschebotareff wrote several learned and 
festival odes, as well as a Russian history for his 
pupils, which, however, has never been printed. 

Tschegloff, Professor, commenced in the year 
1830 a journal called The Northern Bee, which 
professes to contain the newest intelligence con- 
nected with mechanics, physics and chemistry, hus- 
bandry, housekeeping, and commerce, with illus- 
trative engravings. 

Tschepagoff, a dramatic writer of the present 
day. He assisted Schachofskoj in the translation 
of The Horatii, from Corneille. 

Tschulkoff (Michael Dmitrijewitsch), upper se- 
cretary to the senate ; composed a History of Rus- 
sian Commerce, in twenty-one parts, St. Peters- 
burg, 1781; and published a Juridical Lexicon, in 
five parts, at St. Petersburg, 1792-1795. He died 
in 1793. 

Turgeneff (Nikolaj), author of an Essay on the 
Theory of Taxation, 368 pages, St. Petersburg, 
1818. 

U. 

Ustialoff, a learned man at Moscow. He has 
published Notices of the Pseudo-Demetrius and his 
Times, which are in everybody's hand in Russia. 

V. 

Vater (Johann Severin), professor of theology 
and the oriental languages at Konigsberg, and af- 
terwards at Halle, was born in 1771. He occupied 

c c 2 



388 A LEXICON OF 

himself with the grammars and lexicography of all 
the languages in the world ; and in 1808 published, 
in the German language, his Practical Grammar of 
the Russian Language, arranged in easy and com- 
plete tables and rules, with Exercises for gramma- 
tical analysis, and for translating into Russian. Of 
this, the second edition appeared at Leipsic in 1S14. 
This work is distinguished by a number of new 
ideas, especially as regards etymology. The Em- 
peror Alexander complimented the author for it 
with the order of St. Wladimir. Besides this, he 
published a Reading-Book, with a Russo-German 
and German-Russian Dictionary, and a Treatise on 
the excellences of the Russian Language, Leipsic 
and Petersburg. Vater died on the 16th of March, 
1826, at Halle. 



W. 

Wasemskj (Prince Peter Andrejewitsch), colle- 
giate councillor and knight, honorary member of 
•the Moscow University, and of the Academy of the 
free-town of Cracow, was born on the 12th of July, 
1792, at Moscow; received his education in the 
school of the St. Petersburg Gymnasium, and af- 
terwards at Moscow, where he attended the lec- 
tures at the university. In 1S07 he entered the 
public service in the College for Foreign Affairs ; 
and in 1811 he was made groom of the chamber. 
In 1812 he entered the Moscow militia, and was 
under the command of Count Miloradowitsch at 
the battle of Borodino, where two horses were 
killed under him. For the courage displayed by 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 389 

him on this occasion, he received the order and 
riband of St. Wladimir; but on account of his 
weak health, he was unable to persevere longer in 
the military profession. In 1817 he was engaged 
to assist the privy councillor Nowossilzoff at War- 
saw; but in July, 1821, he asked leave to retire 
from public service, and from his duties as groom 
of the chamber. His father, W. G. R. Prince 
A. J. Wasemskj, had endeavoured in his youth to 
inspire him with a love for the mathematical sci- 
ences, but in vain ; even in his very childhood, he 
began to write poetry. His love for literature was 
increased by his intimate acquaintance with Ka- 
ramsin, to whose care his father committed him on 
his death-bed. But he wrote verses for a long time 
without showing them to his Mentor. Karamsin's 
severe judgment offended his self-love, and he 
sought a more indulgent critic. He has to thank 
the late Peter Iwanowitsch Bogdanoff, a teacher 
at the school attached to the Moscow University, 
for his acquaintance with the rules of poetry, and 
of the Ptussian language ; it was he, who by a 
course of light reading, and foreign poets, nourished 
his taste for poetry, which in succeeding years 
rapidly developed itself in his close connection 
and intimate acquaintance with Shukofskj and Bat- 
juschkoff. Prince Wasemskj has distinguished him- 
self by some exceedingly beautiful poetry, of the 
lyrical and didactic kinds. His epistles and satiri- 
cal poems are read universally with delight. Fancy 
and feeling form chiefly the characteristics of the 
poetry of his friends Shukofskj and Batjuschkoff. 
Sharp and penetrating intelligence is the peculiarity 



390 A LEXICON OF 

of Prince Wasemskj. His style is concise, terse, 
and original. Kri'iloff catches at the homely Rus- 
sian phrases of ordinary life ; Shukofskj invents new 
ones by the force of art and taste, but Wasemskj 
wins the palm in preference to either of them, in- 
asmuch as he readily admits expressions into his 
verse which are in common use, provided they feli- 
citously and exactly convey his meaning. He does 
not always seem to be thinking of the school-rules 
of poetry and grammar, but dares to offend against 
them, as is the case with men of talent and acute- 
ness. The same remarks are equally applicable 
to his prose writing. Pity that he should have 
written so little in prose! His essays are well 
known : On the Death of Dershawin, and On the 
Life and Writings of OserofF. The last, indeed, 
is printed uniformly with the works of that trage- 
dian. His poetical works are to be found scattered 
plentifully through most of the periodicals. During 
the latter part of his stay in Poland, when he be- 
came a little better acquainted with the Polish 
language, and the literati of Warsaw, as for in- 
stance, with Niemcewicz, the Nestor of Polish li- 
terature, with Osinskj, the successful translator and 
rival of the tragedian Corneille, with Morawskj, 
the Shukofskj of Poland — he became anxious to 
prepare a survey of the literature of Poland ; and 
by the reciprocal operation of translations to esta- 
blish an interchange of literary treasures between 
two nations, so closely related by their languages, 
so early separated by ancient enmity, but now 
bound together by political ties. Small essays of 
the kind were made on both sides ; but Wascm^kj's 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 3 ( JI 

absence from Warsaw has hindered, for the present 
at least, the fulfilment of this intention, which pro- 
mised to be so advantageous to both parties. 

Wassian (surnamed Riilo), archbishop of Ros- 
tow, pupil of the most venerable Paphnutj, igumen 
or abbot of Borow, after having been archimandrite 
of the monastery of Nowosspask, was consecrated 
archbishop of Rostow, in the year 1468, and died 
at the same place, on the 23rd of March, 1481. 
This prelate distinguished himself by his piety, his 
enlightenment, and his eloquence. The Grand 
Prince John Wassiljewitsch not unfrequently made 
use of his services in his negociations with princes. 
In 14S0, when John, alarmed at an invasion of the 
Tatar Cham, Achmet, was half resolved to abandon 
Moscow to him as a prey, and to fly with his whole 
court to Balvosero and the shores of the ocean, 
Wassian alone opposed with firmness this pusalli- 
nimity of the Grand Prince and his woiwodes. He 
sent to the place where he was encamped, a 
letter, in which he encouraged him to go and 
meet the Tatar with a bold heart. But when the 
Grand Prince, not so much through fear of the 
Tatars as through the cowardice of his bojars, he- 
sitated to do so, Wassian met him at the gates of 
Moscow, and addressed him in the following words: 
" The blood of all Christendom falls upon thy head, 
because thou fliest before the Tatar, and strivest 
not with him in the field. Dost thou fear death ? 
But truly thou wilt nowhere be secure from him ; 
for thou art not born immortal. Give up, then, to 
me that army. Although old and grey, I will not 



392 A LEXICON OF 

spare myself, nor turn away my face before the 
foe!" The Grand Prince, encouraged by Was- 
sian's exhortations, returned back to his army which 
he had abandoned on the banks of the Ocka. The 
Tatars were quickly expelled ; and thus Russia 
was emancipated from their yoke for ever. Was- 
sian likewise was the author of the biography of 
his master, Paphnutj von Borow. The letters of 
Wassian to the Grand Prince, are to be found in 
the Stufen-book, and in the Russian Chronicle, pub- 
lished in 1792 ; but Paphnutj's Life, is only in the 
Tschetj Minej (Legends of the Saints) of the first 
of May. 

Wassilj, probably a monk or priest, lived at the 
end of the eleventh century, and described the then 
existing condition of South-western Russia. He 
was employed by David, Prince of Wladimir, in his 
negotiations with the unfortunate Wasil'ko. (Com- 
pare articles, Johann, priest of Novogorod ; Sylves- 
ter; Simon, bishop of Susdal ; and Timotheus). 

Weltzien. See Heym. 

Wereffkin (Michael Iwanowitsch), acting coun- 
cillor of state, was correspondent of the St. Peters- 
burg Academy of Sciences, and died in 1795. He 
is known by the following translations : 1. Memoirs 
of the Due de Sully, ten parts, Moscow, 1770-1777. 
2. On Navigation, two parts, Moscow, 17^2. 3. 
La Harpe's Thoughts on the Passions, twenty-two 
parts, Moscow, 17 S 2-17 S S. 4. The History of 
Turkey, from the Abbe Minor, four parts, St. IV- 
tersburg, 17S9. 5. The Koran, two parts, St. Pe- 
tersburg, 1790. 6. The Educator, or The 1'ni- 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 393 

versal System of Education, from Ebert and 
Schrockh, twelve parts, St. Petersburg, 1789-1792. 
7. A Universal Geographical Lexicon, from Vos- 
gine, five parts ; and many others. 

Wichmann (Burchard von), school-director in 
the government of Courland, and knight of the 
order of St. Wladimir, fourth class, was born at 
Riga, on the 24th of August, 1786. The collec- 
ting of materials for Russian history and statistics, 
and the publication of useful books on these sub- 
jects, were the favourite occupation of Wichmann 
from the time when he concluded his studies at the 
Universities of Jena, Gottingen, and Heidelberg. 
He published in the German language : 1. A Pic- 
ture of the Russian Monarchy, Leipsic, 1813. 2. 
Records respecting the Election of Michael Ro- 
manoff, a translation, with original historical re- 
marks, Leipsic, 1820. 3. A Collection of little 
Works never before printed on the subject of Rus- 
sia, one part, Berlin, 1820. 4. The National Mu- 
seum of Russia, Riga, 1820. A translation of this 
little book is to be found in No. xxxiii. of the Son 
of the Country for the year 1821. 5. A Chrono- 
logical Pteview of the most recent Period of Rus- 
sian History, two parts, Leipsic, 1821. 

Winogradoff (Peter), professor at the Seminary 
of Alexander Newskj at St. Petersburg, wrote a 
short Sclavonic Grammar, St. Petersburg, 181S, 
112 pages, 8vo. 

Wisin (Deniss Iwanowitsch van), councillor of 
state, member of the Russian Academy, was born 
at Moscow in 1745. He studied at the University 
of Moscow, and made great progress in the Latin 



394 A LEXICON OF 

and German languages. He learnt French in two 
years, without any master, so perfectly, that he 
could understand Voltaire, and began to translate 
his Alzira. In 1762 he was appointed sergeant in 
the guards, and soon afterwards he entered the Col- 
lege of Foreign Affairs in the capacity of translator, 
and was shortly afterwards sent into Germany. In 
1763 he became employed under the minister Count 
N. J. Panin, and obtained his especial favour. At 
this time he wrote the comedy, The Brigadier, and 
translated the poem of Joseph, from Bitaube. The 
repute of his talents reached the ears of Catherine 
the Second, before whom he had the good fortune 
to read his comedy. A sharp word drew upon him 
enemies and persecution. He was dismissed, and 
for some time travelled about Europe. From Paris 
he wrote some Letters on France, in which his ob- 
servant and satiric wit are displayed. On his re- 
turn from his travels, he wrote, in 17S2, the comedy, 
The Mother's Pet Son; after which, however, he 
wrote nothing more for the public. A stroke of 
paralysis soon after deprived him of the use of his 
hands, his feet, and partly of his speech. In this 
melancholy condition he lingered through about 
ten years, until the time of his death, which ensued 
on the 1st of October, 1792. The following are 
the whole of his works: 1. The Mother's Pet Son, a 
comedy, in five acts, printed for the first time in 1 7 S .'5. 
2. The Brigadier, a comedy, in five acts, printed 
in 1764. 3. Letters to My Servants, SchumilofT, 
Wanka, and Petruschka, a burlesque poem, in 
which he ridicules the ambition and self-seeking of 
the world. Shortly before his death, lie shewed 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 395 

great contrition for having indulged a little too 
much license of thought in this poem. 4. A Dis- 
course, delivered on the second day of Whitsuntide, 
by the Priest Wassilj, printed by the Society of the 
Lovers of the Russian Language. 5. Kallisthenes, 
a Greek Tale, printed in the book called The Friend 
of Truth, or The Wise Man's Pocket Companion, 
published at St. Petersburg in 1801. 6. Letters to 
different Persons ; Two Letters written to a Distin- 
guished Correspondent from Paris : printed in the 
St. Petersburg Journal of Herr Pnin. A Letter on 
the compilation of the Great Russian Dictionary to 
O. P. K. is dated in the year 1784, from Moscow ; 
it was printed in the European Messenger for the 
year 1803. 7. A Discourse on the Recovery of the 
Grand Prince Paul Petrowitsch, printed in 1776. 
8. His Confessions or Acknowledgments; not com- 
plete : printed in the St. Petersburg Journal. The 
following are not yet printed : 9. The Chattering 
Aunt, a satirical poem. 10. An Attempt at a Court 
Grammar. Also the translations : 1. Holberg's Fa- 
bles, from the German, third edition, Moscow, 1763. 
2. The Life of Sifa, ruler of Egypt, four parts, from 
the French, 1764. 3. Alzira, or the Americans, a 
tragedy of Voltaire, translated into metre, 1762, 
printed 1786. 4. Joseph, a poem, from Bitaube, 
after the French, printed at Moscow, 1769. 5. 
The Nobility of Commerce opposed to the Nobility 
of the Army, from the French, St. Petersburg, 
1766. 6. Sidney and Silly, or Beneficence and 
Gratitude, an English story, from the French, St. 
Petersburg, 1769; second edition, Moscow, 1788. 
7. A Panegyric upon Marcus Aurelius, from Thomas, 



3% A LEXICON OF 

after the French, St. Petersburg, 1777. 8. The 
Loves of Charita and Polydore, a tale, from Bar- 
thelemj, after the French, St. Petersburg, 1763. 
9. Sidney, a poem, from the French. Van Wisin 
belongs to the most distinguished order of men of 
Catherine's time. Those who have known him 
well, speak loudly of his liberality, his generosity, 
his candour, his amiableness of behaviour, and 
his wit, through which last qualification he not 
unfrequently entailed unpleasant consequences on 
himself. The most remarkable of his works is the 
comedy of The Mother's Pet Son ; although the per- 
fectly original characters drawn in it are already be- 
ginning to be lost among the Russians, yet its witty 
and comic thoughts, and its entertaining scenes, 
will always preserve its value. It may be said, 
that this comedy was of great advantage to the 
Russians ; to its appearance may be traced a visi- 
ble and beneficial alteration in the habits and way 
of thinking of many of the country gentlemen of 
Russia. Van Wisin was the first prose writer of 
his time ; yet it cannot now be said that his writings 
may be regarded as a model. The style of his co- 
medies is a true copy of the language spoken at 
that time by the persons he undertakes to repre- 
sent. In his serious translations (as for instance, 
the Panegyric on M. Aurelius), his purity, clear- 
ness, and power (which he could have acquired 
only by the studious reading of Sclavonic books) 
deserve peculiar praise ; but a sort of forced rhythm, 
similar to the effect of poetical measure, is dis- 
agreeable to the ear which is accustomed to the 
modern and more easy style o( prose. Hl€ letters 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 397 

are witty, natural, and easy, but not studied enough 
in point of style ; he wrote as if he were not writing 
for the public. It is much to be wished that there 
were a complete collection of the works of this 
writer, but as far as we know, nothing of the sort 
has as yet been attempted. 

Wisskowatoff (Stephan Iwanowitsch), titular 
councillor, ordinary member of the Society of the 
Lovers of the Russian Language, and of the St. Pe- 
tersburg Free Society for the Lovers of Russian 
Literature, was born in the government of Pskow, 
on the 27th of July, 1786. He received his edu- 
cation in his parents' house, and has been engaged 
in public service since the year 1800. At the time 
of the raising the militia, he was chosen by the no- 
bility as a captain. In 1808 he became an officer 
and librarian in the Mining Cadet Corps, and taught 
there Russian history, literature, and geography. 
Since the year 1811 he has been engaged in the 
private chancery of the Minister of the Interior. 
His works consist chiefly of tragedies in verse : 1. 
Xenia and Temir, in five acts, enacted at St. Peters- 
burg, and printed in 1809. 2. Rhaclamistus and Ze- 
nobia, from Crebillon, played and printed in 1809. 
3. Hamlet, played and printed in 1810. 4. Hy- 
permnestra, from Crebillon, played at St. Peters- 
burg and Moscow, and printed in 1811. 5. Inez 
di Castro, represented in 1812. 6. Wladimir Mo- 
nomach, 1816. 7. The Rising of the Country, a 
heroic play, in three acts, played at St. Petersburg 
on the 30th of August, 1812. In this piece the 
celebrated Dmitrefskj appeared on the boards for 
the last time. Many minor works of Wisskowatoff 



S98 A LEXICON OF 

were printed in the journals. He has been still 
more recently occupied in preparing for the press 
a complete collection of his works and translations, 
in five parts. 

Wojejkoff (Alexander Fodorowitsch), collegiate 
councillor, member of the Russian Academy, and 
many other learned societies, was born at Moscow, 
on the 15th of November, 1773, and received his 
education at the school attached to the Moscow 
University, from 1791 to 1796. Afterwards he en- 
tered the military service. In August, 1814, he 
was appointed Professor of the Russian Language 
and Literature in the University of Dorpat. In 
1S20 he served in the department for Ecclesiastical 
Affairs ; in 1821 he was inspector of classes at the 
Artillery School. His works and translations are 
the following : 1. The Garden, a poem of Delille, 
translated into metre, St. Petersburg, 1816. 2. 
The Ecloo-ues. 3. The^Eneid; and 4. The Geor- 
gics, of Virgil. Fragments of a complete transla- 
tion of this poem in the same metre as the original. 
5. Fragments from Delille's poem of Fancy. 6. 
The Arts and Sciences, a didactic poem, in four 
cantos, of which three are complete. Fragments 
of these works of his are printed in the different 
annual series of the European Messenger and The 
Son of the Country. 7. Satires, Epistles, and lit- 
tle poems scattered about different periodicals. Wo- 
jejkoff has received great applause for the manner 
in which he has translated some of the above poems; 
but his peculiar talent is to be found in his Epis- 
tles. Many of them may lie cited as perfect mo- 
dels. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 309 

Woltschkoff (Sergj Sawitsch), collegiate coun- 
cillor, secretary of the Academy of Sciences, after- 
wards director of the senatorial printing-house, died 
at St. Petersburg in 1773. He published a copious 
French Lexicon for Travellers in 1755, second edi- 
tion, 1768 ; third edition, 1785 : and he translated 
the following books : 1. The Courtier of Balthazar 
Gracian, printed at St. Petersburg, 1742 and 1760. 

2. Florin's Economy, in nine volumes, five times 
published, viz. in 1738, 1750, 1760, 1775, and 1794. 

3. The Life and Actions of Marcus Aurelius Anto- 
ninus, the Roman Emperor, comprising his wise 
judgments upon himself, two parts, published 1740- 
1760, and 1775. 4. Extracts from Savari's Trade 
Lexicon, 1747. 5. iEsop's Fables, with Morals and 
Remarks, 1747 and 1760. 6. Short Dialogues upon 
several curious things connected with the Sciences 
and Natural Wonders, published in questions and 
answers by Paul Tavernier, 1761. 7. The School 
of the World, or A Father's Advice to his Son 
upon Entering Life, by Le Noble. 8. The Essays 
of Michael Montaigne, 1 762. 9. The Art of being 
Happy, 1775. 10. On Contentment, by Johann 
Adolph Hoffmann, 1750. 11. The Book of Lan- 
guages, 1751. 

Wostokoff (Alexander Christophorowitsch), col- 
legiate assessor and knight, member of the Russian 
Academy, and many other learned societies, was 
born in February, 1781, at Arensburg, in the island 
of Oesel. In 1788 he entered the Land Cadet 
Corps; in 1794 he studied in the Academy of 
the Arts, where he pursued architecture till the 
year 1800. As he had a stronger natural taste for 



400 A LEXICON OF 

elegant literature, he gave up architecture, and 
got himself appointed under-librarian and translator 
at the same academy. In ISO! he was employed 
by the Statutes Commission as translator, which 
place he occupied for some time. In 1815 he re- 
ceived in addition the office of assistant to the conser- 
vator of manuscripts in the Imperial public library; 
and in 1818 the still further place of secretary 
to the department for ecclesiastical affairs. His 
first poetical attempts appeared in a collection of 
poems published by the Society of Lovers of Li- 
terature, the Sciences, and the Arts, intitled, The 
Paper Scroll of the Muses. In 1805-1S06 he 
published his works, under the title of Lyrical 
Attempts, in two parts. Later, he printed in va- 
rious periodicals his works in poetry and prose, 
the latter class of which belong chiefly to the sub- 
jects of philology and grammar. In 1817 appeared 
separately, An Essay on Russian Poetry ; and in 
1821 his collected poems were published, with the 
title, The Poems of A. Wostokoff. From 1808 he 
employed himself in grammatical and lexicograph- 
ical inquiries ; he brought into etymological order 
the three first parts of Linde's Dictionary, and wrote 
a Grammar of the Sclavonic Language. These 
useful labours, however, have not yet, we are sorry 
to say, been printed. In vol. xvii. of the Transac- 
tions of the Moscow Society of the Lovers of the 
Russian Language, his Treatise on the Sclavonic 
Language, which was intended as an introduction 
to this Grammar, may be found printed. 

Wsewolosciiskj (N. W.), a vaudeville and play 
writer. See Chmelnizkj. 



RUSSIAN AUTHORS. 101 



Zacharias Kopustenskj, archimandrite of the 
Subterranean Monastery of Kieff (he died in 162G), 
whose funeral discourses upon the archimandrite 
Pletenezkj : 1. under the title, An Oration delivered 
over the Grave of the Holy Man, and most Worthy 
Father Kir Jelissj ; and 2. by the title of Homilies ; 
were printed at Kieff. St. Dimitrj alludes to the 
defence of the Russian-Greek church, which was 
composed by Zacharias, under the title of Pali- 
nody, in the White-Russian dialect. 

Zerteleff (Prince), author of A Critique upon 
the Writers of Russia, which may be found in the 
St. Petersburg Journal of the Society of the Friends 
of Enlightenment and Beneficence. There has 
also appeared of his making, An Attempt at a Col- 
lection of the Ancient Songs of Lesser Russia, St. 
Petersburg, 1819, 8vo. 

Zinowj, a monk of the monastery at Novogorod, 
lived in the middle of the sixteenth century, and 
wrote fifty-six dialogues in defence of the true faith 
of the Russian-Greek church, which are preserved 
in the Synodal Library at Moscow. 

Zissanj. See Lawrentj. 

Zonobj (Zonobius). See Zinowj. 



Dd 



APPENDIX, 

To explain the Meanings of several Words. 

Hieromonacli, a monk, who discharges almost the 
same duties as an ordinary priest, but is not per- 
mitted to officiate in the celebration of marriage. 

Igumen, abbot. 

Kormtschqja Kniga, the nomo-canons, or rules 
for the clergy, collected by the patriarch Nikon. 

Lcitopiss, chronicle. 

Lawra, monastery ; so, for instance, are called 
the monasteries of KiefF, Troizka, and Alexander 
Newskj. 

Oktoich, a church-book, which contains the songs 
of John of Damascus, for eight voices. 

Otetschnik, biography of the church Fathers. 

Possadnik, the title of the governors in ancient 
Pskow and Novogorod. 

Risa, or Risii, the garment worn by the priest in 
the celebration of mass ; also a piece of silver tin- 
sel, resembling that on the priests' robes, which is 
placed as an ornament round the images of the 
saints. 

Russkqja Prawda, the Russian Rights. 

Rassholnilcs, dissenters from the Russian-Greek 
church. 

Ssbornik, a prayer-book; a chaplet of flowers. 
This is the name always given to ancient Russian 
manuscripts, in which writings on different subjects 
are mixed together. 



401 APPENDIX. 

Sstoglaff, the clerical statute-book, containing a 
hundred chapters. 

Ssudeb7iik, the statute-book given to the Rus- 
sians by the Czar Iwan Wassiljewitsch, and called 
the Ssudebnik, or second Prussian Rights. 

Stuf en-bach , the genealogical table of the old Rus- 
sian Czars, from Rurik down to Feodor Johanno- 
witsch. 

Trebnik, services of the church. 

Trioden, the church books, which contain the 
canons, written in three cantos. 

Tschassosslowez, or Tschassoumik, the Prayer- 
Book, which contains the prayers to be used at the 
stated hours— the first, the third, the sixth, and the 
ninth, or the Horae ; and some other prayers. 

Tschetj Mine], legends of the saints. 

Uloshenije, the statute-book of the Czar Alexj 
Michailowitsch. 



APPENDIX. 



jo; 



THE MANNER OF WRITING THE RUSSIAN WORDS 
IN RUSSIAN CHARACTERS. 



P. 6. 



P.12. 



ras 


pa3 


ros 


p03 


is 


H3 


wui 


BM 


ptiza 


nniHiia 


ptak 

ptaclia 

shiwetje 

deii 

muilo 


nmaiv-b 
nmaxa 

Hi 

Aeub 

MHAO 


rdd 

koster 

kotell 


Kocmep-b 

KOmC/Yb 


ssdno 


Ct>HO 


hrorta 


6pOHH 


sselW 


ceAbib 


gorod 
torgg 
lekar 


ropo^-b 
mopri. 
.leKapb 


medd 


me^'L 


mrak 


MpaKTa 


doll 
krik 


10 All 
KpUKb 


besmenn 


6e3MCHl. 


delit' 


A%ATAWb 


tollcowat* 


UIOAKOBaUIb 


morje 


Mope 



406 


APPENDIX. 


P. 12. ssamm 


caivib 


chomut 


xoMynrb 


chlab 


xaLG-l 


towarr 


uiOBap'b 


P. 13. be 


6 


she 


Av 


ze 


1 


scha 


111 


schtscha 


III 


jerr 


b 


Ul 


bl 


je or e 


b 


> 


K> 


j<* 


a 


P. 14. Mitropolit 


MiiiuponoAiiMb 


Jjerej 


Iepen 


trapesa 


uipane3a 


P. 16. Sbornik 


C6opHiiK-b 


P. 20. RusskajaP 


rawda pycKaa IIpaB^a 


P. 24. efewfca 


^eHbra 


altuln 


aAUIblHb 


kaftan 


Ka^niaHTb 


wVk 


BAbKb 


frg 


uipbrb 


ssl'sa 


CAb3a 


ssfsa 


CUlb3il 


wolk 


BOA Kb) 


torg 


UlOpi'b 


sslesa 


CAC3a 


sstesa 


('U103H 




J' 


/• 


K 



APPENDIX. 107 


P. 24. ch 


X 


j e 


e 


>' 


i> 


i 


H 


ju 


K) 


3 a 


a 


J er J 


b 


P. 25. she 


a; 


tsche 


*i 


scha 


IK 


schtscha 


hi 


ze 


y 


ui 


bl 


jerr 


1> 


Kuijeff 


KbieB-b 


P. 26. Kormtschaja kniga 


! KopM^aa KHHra 


P. 27. segsiza 


3er3Hiia 


charalushnilj 


xapa./iy;uHpbin 


schereschiriii 


mepeuinbiH 


P. 3 1 . Prissdsch Ian 


Hpiica}uni)Xi) 


P. 32. Sstoglaff 


CiuorAaBi. 


Ssudebnik 


Cy^ebHMK-b 


P. 33. Tschassosslowez 


^acocAOBei^i) 


Octoick 


K 1U0HX1. 


P. 35. Uloshenije 


yAOAieuie 


P. 38. Ctoro^ 


Ociupori> 


P. 45. Ras-rad books 


Pa3pH,4Hblxi) 3anHcivaxij 


P. 58. Fuhrleit 


fpypACHiui. 


P. 59. £m/« 


3 


/s^e 


H 


Schtscha 


^ 


E 


a 



fi* 



408 APPENDIX. 


P. 59. iij 


bill 


uje 


hie 


ilja 


hi 'A 


P. 81. Greschnik 


TjjfcililTHK'b 


BOOK II. 


P. 129. Jerr 


-b 


Ishe 


H 


Schtscha 


in 


P. 133. Zwetnlk 


IlBtiniHHK'b 


P. 136. Duschinka 


/3,yineHbKa 


P. 150. Bachariana 


Eaxapiana 


P. 151. Rossiad 


pocciHp,a 


P. 152. Sstolnik 


Cuioahhktd 


P. 154. Melomania 


Me.ioMaHia 


P. 157. Stufen-biicher 


Cuieneiiiibia Kuiini 


P. 159. Igumen 


yryAieHi) 


P. 160. Toissiokoff 


T0HCi0KOBl> 


P. 164. Executor 


9K3eKyuiop-b 


P. 169. Tschetj Minei 


Meiuin Mhhih 


P. 2 10. Possadnik 


Hoca^HiiK-b. 



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